r- 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

AT  LOS  Angeles  • 


4  9  6  3      4 


THE 

SOUTHERN  HIGHLANDER 

AND  HIS  HOMELAND 


BY 


JOHN  C.  CAMPBELL 

SECRETARY,  SOUTHERN  HIGHLAND  DIVISION 
RUSSELL  SAGE  FOUNDATION 


>  »  I   ,       »  I 


RUSSELL  SAGE  FOUNDATION 
NEW  YORK,   192  I 


7  2000 


Copyright,  192 i,  by 
The  Russell  Sage  Foundation 

Printed  March,  1921,  1000  Copies 
Reprinted  July,  1921,  1500  Copies 


r  •    • 


'»    •  •    t  '   ...      •  *•  :  .    ... 

.    c        »    ^ 


*  . 


WM  •  F.  FELL  CO  •  PRINTERS 
PHILADELPHIA 


^  TABLE  OF  CONTENTS 


H 


PAGE 


List  of  Tables  v 


P^    List  of  Illustrations  vii 

Preface  xi 

Foreword  xvii 

^           I .  More  or  Less  Personal  i 
II.  The  Southern  Highlands  and  the  Southern  Highlander 

Defined  8 
Hi.  Pioneer  Routes  of  Travel  and  Early  Settlements  22 
IV.  Ancestry  50 
V.  The  Present  Highland  Population  72 
,   VI.  Individualism  in  Various  Aspects  90 
"^       VII.  The  Rural  Highlander  at  Home  123^ 
v!^     VI 11.  The  Growth  of  Denominationalism  in  the  Highlands  152 
"^         IX.  The  Religious  Life  of  the  Rural  Highlands  176 
'^^^  '^    X.  Living  Conditions  and  Health  i95 
XI.  Resources  of  the  Mountain  Country  and  their  Develop- 
ment 226 
XII.  Education  260 
,^  ,     XIII.  Avenues  for  Contact  and  Progress  299 
XIV.  The  New  Basis  of  Appeal  323 


J 


Appendices 

A.  Regional  Descriptions  of  State  Mountain  Areas  335 

B.  A  Misapplied  Theory  of  Mountain  Origin  349 
C  Boone's  Trail  352 

^"^    D.  Historical  Estimates  of  the  Scotch-Irish  and  Germans  in 

the  United  States  in  1775  355 

E.  Statistical  Tables  360 

Bibliography  375 

Index  391 


.1 


111 


LIST  OF  TABLES 


PAGE 


1.  Population  of  the  Southern  Highlands  and  Distribution  of 

Population  by  Nativity  and  Race,  by  Belts.    19 lo  74 

2.  Distribution  of  Area  and  Population,  and  Density  of  Pop- 

ulation in  the  Three  Highland  Belts.     1910  75 

3.  Increase  in  Population  in  the  Southern  Highlands  and  in 

the  Southern  Highland  States,  from  1890  to  1900  and 
from  1900  to  19 10  77 

4.  Urban  and  Rural  Population  Computed  on  Four  Different 

Bases.     19 10  80 

5.  Homicide  Rates  per  100,000  Population  for  the  Mountain 

and  Non-Mountain  Regions  of  Six  Southern  Highland 
States.     1916  115 

6.  White  and  Negro  Homicide  Rates  per  100,000  Population, 

for  the  Mountain  and  Non-Mountain  Regions  of  North 
Carolina.     1916  116 

7.  Membership  of  Religious  Bodies  in  the  Southern  High- 

lands.    1906  and  1916  170 

8.  Percentage  of  Total  Church  Membership  in  the  Southern 

Highlands  for  the  Three  Leading  Protestant  Denomina- 
tions.    1916  172 

9.  Rural  Death  Rates  for  the  Mountain  Regions  of  Six  South- 

ern Highland  States.     1916  209 

10.  White  and  Negro  Death  Rates  per  1,000  Population  for 

Rural  North  Carolina.     1916  210 

1 1 .  Estimated  Potential  and  Developed  Water  Power  of  the 

Rivers  of  the  Southern  Highland  States  235 

12.  Coal  Areas,  Coal  Produced,  and  Miners  Emploxed  in  the 

Southern  Highlands,  by  States.     1917  238 

13.  Per  Cent  of  Illiteracy  for  Persons  10  Years  of  Age  and  over 

in  the  Southern  Highlands,  by  Race  and  by  Belts.    1910  261 

14.  Per  Cent  of  Illiteracy  for  Native  White  Males  of  Voting 

Age  in  the  Southern  Highlands  and  Southern  Highland 
States,  by  States.     1910  263 

V 


LIST  OF  TABLES 

PAGE 

15.  School  Supervision  in  Urban  and  Rural  Districts  of  Three 

North  Carolina  Counties.     19 16  267 

16.  Area  in  Square  Miles  of  the  Southern  Highlands  and  the 

Southern  Highland  States,  by  States  360 

17.  Population  of  the  Southern  Highlands  and  the  Southern 

Highland  States,  1890,  1900,  19 10,  and  Per  Cent  of 
Increase  from  1890  to  1900,  and  from  1900  to  19 10,  by 
States  361-362 

18.  Composition  of  the  Southern   Highland   Population  by 

Nativity  and  Race,  by  States.     1910  363 

19.  Population  per  Square  Mile  in  the  Southern  Highlands  and 

in  the  Southern  Highland  States,  by  States.     191  o  364 

20.  Number  and  Per  Cent  of  Rural  Population  (in  Places  of 

less  than  1,000  Inhabitants)  in  the  Southern  Highlands 
and  in  the  Southern  Highland  States,  by  States.    1910     365 

21.  Number  and  Per  Cent  of  Urban  Population  (in  Places  of 

1,000  Inhabitants  and  over)  in  the  Southern  Highlands 
and  in  the  Southern  Highland  States,  by  States.    1910    366 

22.  Number  and  Aggregate  Population  of  Places  of  from  i  ,000 

to  2,500  Inhabitants  in  the  Southern  Highlands  and  in 
the  Southern  Highland  States,  by  States.    19 10  367 

23.  Number  and  Aggregate  Population  of  Cities  of  2,500  In- 

habitants and  over  in  the  Southern  Highlands  and  in 
the  Southern  Highland  States,  by  States.     1910  368 

24.  Number  and  Aggregate  Population  of  Cities  of  10,000 

Inhabitants  and  over  in  the  Southern  Highlands  and  in 
the  Southern  Highland  States,  by  States.    1910  369 

25.  Number  and  Aggregate  Population  of  Cities  of  25,000  and 

over  in  the  Southern  Highlands  and  in  the  Southern 
Highland  States,  by  States.     1910  370 

26.  Membership  of  the  Nine   Leading   Protestant,    Roman 

Catholic,  and  all  Religious  Bodies  in  the  Southern  High- 
lands, by  Belts  and  States.     19 16  371 


VI 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 


FACING 
PAGE 


Mount  Mitchell  Frontispiece 

Visiting  a  Mountain  School  Sixty  Miles  from  a  Railroad  Preface 

"A  picture  of  pioneer  days"  8 

A  Train  of  Canvas-Covered  Wagons  8 

" The  traveler  who  follows  the  trails  of  this  far  country"  9 

Map  of  Southern  Highland  Region  1 1 

Craggy  Mountain — in  the  Blue  Ridge  16 

Allegheny-Cumberland  Belt  16 

The  Tennessee  River  at  Chattanooga  17 

Map  of  Early  Routes  3' 

Branch  of  Carr  Creek,  Kentucky  38 

The  Swannanoa  River  Valley,  near  Asheville,  North  Carolina  39 

Clay  County  Salt  Works,  Manchester,  Kentucky  48 
"The  poorness  of  mountain  roads  was  probably  not  as  much  a 

deterrent  to  travel  at  this  time,  as  later"  49 
"  Conjectures  have  been  many  as  to  the  ancestry  of  the  South- 
ern Highlanders"  60 
Cecil  J.  Sharp  collecting  Old  English  Ballads  and  Folk-Songs  61 
Four  Brothers  in  One  of  the  Mountain  Schools  72 
"  No  other  dwelling  can  ever  fit  so  well  into  the  wooded  hills  and 

covesof  our  mountain  country"  73 

When  the  Creek  is  up  over  the  Road  78 

When  a  Tide  makes  Fording  1  mpossible  79 

Fording  the  Headwaters  of  the  Nolichucky  79 

"  In  the  center  is  the  home  itself"  82 

Box-House  83 

"  The  more  pretentious  new  white  frame-house  "  83 

Grist  Mill  86 

Making  Long  Hand-Split  Shingles  87 

Small  Sawmill  87 

Log  Rolling  90 

Making  Rail  Fence  90 

The  Crushing  of  Sorghum  Cane  and  Boiling  Down  91 

A  Highland  Soldier  of  the  Civil  War  96 
"  Such  a  sled  as  may  be  seen  today  on  almost  any  mountain 

farm"  97 

A  Highland  Horse-Swapping  102 

vii 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 


FACING 
PAGE 


"  Men  who  carry  out  the  letter  of  the  law"  103 

In  Process  of  Distilling  no 

A  Prominent  Feudist  in  One  of  Kentucky's  Past  "Wars"  1 1 1 
A  Speech  on    Patriotism   from   the   Court    House   Steps  on 

Registration  Da)'  120 

A  Maker  of  Guns,  with  Gun  Made  Thirty  Years  Ago  121 

"The  only  road,  which  must  be  forded  lengthwise"  124 

"To  the  I'ittle  homes"  124 

Laurel  Thicket  in  the  Highlands  125 

In  the  Pasture  128 

Salting  Sheep  from  a  Gourd  1 28 

Shearing  Sheep  128 

Washing  Wool  in  the  Branch  128 

Spreading  Wool  to  Dry  on  Roof  of  Shed  129 

Dyeing  and  Drying  Wool  1 29 

Picking  Over  Wool  1 29 

Carding  Wool  1 29 
"  From    babyhood   the   boy   is   the   favored   lord   of  all   he 

surveys"  134 

A  Family  of  Nine  Girls  134 

Carrying  Straw  to  Fill  her  Bed-Tick  135 
A  Mother,  her  baby  in  her  Arms  and  another  Child  at  her 

Back  135 
"There    is    something   magnificent    in   many  of    the   older 

women"  140 

"The  social  aspect  of  the  Red  Cross  meetings"  141 
"He  who  can  beat  a  measure  with  a  reed  on  the  upper 

portion  of  the  strings"  146 

"The  dulcimer  is  a  quaint  and  delightful  little  instrument"  146 

"Low,  latticed  houses,  painted  blue  and  white"  147 
"There  is  something  indescribably  pathetic  about  most  of 

the  graveyards"  147 

"The  rem.ote  mill,  by  a  lonely  rush  of  waters"  150 
"Where  once  the  Tallulah  River  leaped — a  foaming  torrent 

of  waterfalls  and  rapids  through  a  gray  gorge"  1 5 1 

Augusta  Church,  Fort  Defiance,  Virginia  164 

Timber  Ridge  Church,  Timber  Ridge,  Virginia  164 

Mountain  Church  and  School  House  165 

Old  School  House,  also  used  as  Church  House  165 

A  Mountain  Preacher  182 
"Such  men,  riding  or  walking  year  by  year  the  many  miles 

of  their  wide  circuit "  183 
"Raising  a  house" — Rolling  a  Log  up  Over  the  Skids  into 

Position  200 

viii 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 


FACING 
PAGE 


Crowd  Gathered  at  the  House-Raising  Above  200 
"  Bees  are  kept  very  commonly"  201 
"  Beans  are  dried  in  the  pod"  201 
County-seat  in  the   Kentucky  Mountains,  Showing  Conges- 
tion of  Population  in  a  Narrow  Valley  218 
A  Medical  Settlement  219 
A  Well-Equipped    Mountain   Hospital,   and   a    Part  of   the 

Region  it  Serves  219 
Steep  Forest-Covered  Slope  of  Hawksbill  Mountain,  North 

Carolina  226 
"Scores  of  such  'deadenings'  may  be  found  in  a  short  jour- 
ney through  the  mountains"  227 
Logging  in  Hast  Tennessee  230 
Getting  the  Yellow  Poplar  out  of  Pine  Mountain,  Kentucky  231 
"Waiting  for  a  tide"  236 
"  The  moving  out  of  the  big  rafts"  236 
Coal  Bank  237 
Small  Coal  Mine  237 
Plowing  a  Hillside  Farm  252 
Family  Planting  252 
Cradling  Rye  on  a  Hillside  Farm  253 
Public  School  264 
County  Teachers  Taking  Examination  at  the  Court  House  265 
The  Appeal  of  the  Children  is  Strong  278 
Bacon  from  the  School  Farm  279 
"A  certain  kind  of  industrial  work"  279 
Bringing  Baskets  to  the  School  298 
"  The  mountaineer  is  not  a  person  to  be  pushed  where  he 

does  not  wish  to  go"  299 
The  Mountain  Store  is  the  Gathering  Place  of  the  Neighbor- 
hood ^^  322 
"The  modern  is  close  to  the  pioneer"  323 
The  Old  Way  and  the  New  328 
"  Most  of  his  journey  was  taken  over  roads  impassable  to 
automobiles"  329 


IX 


PREFACE 

TO  those  who  read  this  study  of  "The  Southern  Highlander 
and  his  Homeland,"  whether  or  not  they  knew  its  writer, 
some  explanation  is  due.  The  following  pages  are  the  out- 
come of  twenty-five  years  of  life  and  experience  in  the  mountain 
country  of  the  South.  Mr.  Campbell  became  interested  in  the 
Southern  Highlands  while  he  was  a  student  at  Andover  Theolog- 
ical Seminary  between  1892  and  1895,  and  from  the  time  of  his 
graduation,  when  as  a  teacher  he  went  into  a  remote  section  of 
the  mountains,  until  the  time  of  his  death,  when  he  was  Secretary 
of  the  Southern  Highland  Division  of  the  Russell  Sage  Foundation, 
he  was  almost  continuously  engaged  in  the  service  of  the  Highland 
people. 

The  first  part  of  his  life  in  the  Highlands  Mr.  Campbell  spent  in 
three  different  schools — as  principal  of  an  institute  in  Alabama, 
as  principal  of  an  academy  in  Tennessee,  and  as  president  of  Pied- 
mont College  in  northern  Georgia.  When  his  health  failed,  largely 
as  a  result  of  the  strain  involved  in  raising  an  endowment,  he  took 
an  enforced  vacation  of  a  year,  and  then,  under  the  auspices  of  the 
Russell  Sage  Foundation,  entered  upon  a  study  of  the  whole  High- 
land country.  Preliminary  to  this  study  he  held  conferences  with 
many  leaders  and  officials  in  Lowland  and  Highland  South,  as  well 
as  with  numerous  other  people  interested  in  bettering  rural  con- 
ditions throughout  the  country  in  order  that  the  knowledge  and 
experience  he  had  gained  in  mountain  work  might  be  checked  and 
amplified  by  the  knowledge  and  experience  of  others.  The  cordial 
assistance  given  him  at  this  time  not  only  broadened  his  under- 
standing of  the  problem  he  was  about  to  investigate  but  undoubt- 
edly played  its  part  in  the  gradual  growth  of  his  conviction  that 
co-operation  was  both  necessary  and  feasible  in  this  field. 

Thus  equipped  he  started  out  into  the  Highlands.  Much  of  his 
journeying,  which  was  more  or  less  continuous  for  the  following 
year  or  two,  was  necessarily  by  horseback  or  wagon,  with  many 

xi 


PREFACE 

violated  any  more  than  that  given  to  a  physician.  Its  effort  is  the 
same  as  that  of  a  physician — to  correct,  not  merely  to  diagnose 
and  publish.  Its  work  is  constructive.  The  division  is  ready  always 
to  give  confidential  information  confidentially  to  those  who  may 
be  social  physicians  and  who  will  hold  to  the  social  and  profes- 
sional code." 

It  should  be  added  that  Mr.  Campbell  understood  thoroughly 
the  difficulties  in  the  way  of  writing  of  a  people  who,  while  forming 
a  definite  geographical  and  racial  group,  were  by  no  means 
socially  homogeneous.  Many  statements  applicable  to  the  remote 
rural  folk  who  were  the  particular  object  of  his  study  were  not 
true  of  their  urban  and  valley  kinsfolk,  yet  to  differentiate  groups 
in  discussing  phases  of  life  common  to  all  was  not  easy.  Moreover, 
it  was  impossible  usually  to  secure  data  on  a  strictly  group  basis. 
That  misunderstandings  would  arise,  however  carefully  he  defined 
his  groups  or  limited  his  discussion  of  them,  he  felt  was  inevitable, 
and  deeply  concerned  as  he  was  in  the  working  together  of  all 
forces  he  questioned  the  advisability  of  publishing  a  book  which 
might  result  in  division  rather  than  in  union.  Not  until  the  last 
year  of  his  life  did  he  finally  consent  to  edit,  in  the  light  of  his 
many  years  of  experience,  his  mass  of  notes  and  material  for  publi- 
cation. 1  will  not  say  that  it  was  too  late,  for  he  was  able  to  out- 
line his  book  thoroughly  and  even  to  finish  entirely  certain  por- 
tions; but  health  long  impaired  by  a  life  of  many  hardships  and 
much  sorrow  failed  rapidly,  and  death  came  before  the  manuscript 
could  be  completed. 

Writing  of  Mr.  Campbell,  Warren  H.  Wilson,  Director  of  the 
Church  and  Country  Life  Work  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  and 
a  widely  known  student  of  rural  life,  says: 

He  was  of  a  rare  type  of  Christian,  and  rarer  still  as  an  inter- 
church  worker.  ...  He  was  a  prophet  of  the  spirit  of  the 
Church  rather  than  a  servant  of  its  body.  He  never  became 
antagonistic  to  any  one,  even  the  narrowest,  though  his  work  was 
such  that  he  must  have  been  a  progressive  in  theology.  He  had 
the  patience  and  gentleness  which  believed  and  loved  men  of  all 
faiths  and  of  all  types.  He  left  no  one  out  of  his  care.  He  made 
himself  the  bishop  of  the  mountain  people  all.  With  increasing 
knowledge  he  never  diminished  his  breadth  of  affection     .     .     . 

xiv 


PREFACE 

He  would  take  no  action  to  offend  any  group  or  any  leader  of  the 
mountain  people. 

*********** 

I  hope  that  Mr.  Campbell's  researches  may  be  published,  for 
they  are  of  value.  No  one  else  has  the  material  which  he  possessed. 
He  alone  had  seen  with  his  eyes  the  whole  mountain  problem.  By 
publication  alone  can  his  full  service  be  made  available.  During 
his  life  his  power  was  pent  up  within  his  own  unselfish  personality. 
Nowit  should  be  made  a  contribution  for  all  men  to  possess.  .  .  . 
Only  through  a  book  that  shall  initiate  discussion,  criticism  and 
reply  can  such  a  man's  life  become  the  property  of  all  men. 

It  is  this  book,  completed  from  the  notes  and  material  which  he 
left  and  from  a  knowledge  of  his  general  point  of  view  and  conclu- 
sions, that  is  now  presented  to  the  public.  No  one  can  be  more 
conscious  of  its  limitations  and  defects  than  the  editor,  whose 
office — great  as  was  the  happiness  that  attended  it— was  not  always 
an  easy  one.  It  would  have  been  far  more  difficult  had  it  not  been 
for  the  generous  assistance  furnished  by  Mr.  Campbell's  friends 
within  and  without  the  Highlands  and  for  the  tireless  enthusiasm  of 
Edith  R.  Canterbury,  secretaryto  Mr. Campbell,  who  has  given  un- 
sparingly of  her  time,  effort,  and  knowledge  of  the  mountains. 

Special  acknowledgments  are  due  to  Dr.  L.  C.  Glenn,  Profes- 
sor of  Geology,  Vanderbilt  University,  for  information  supplied 
and  interest  extending  through  many  years,  and  in  addition  for 
critical  reading  of  parts  of  the  manuscript  dealing  with  the  topog- 
raphy of  the  country  and  its  resources;  to  Dr.  Taliaferro  Clark, 
Assistant  Surgeon-General,  United  States  Public  Health  Service, 
and  to  Dr.  Paul  Johnson,  Department  of  Health  Service,  American 
Red  Cross,  for  their  very  helpful  suggestions  in  regard  to  the  chap- 
ter on  Health;  to  the  Director  of  the  Census  and  to  the  Director 
of  the  Geological  Survey;  and  to  many  in  Federal  and  State 
Departments,  especially  those  of  Health,  Education,  and  Forestry, 
for  their  cordial  co-operation  in  furnishing  data. 

The  list  of  acknowledgments  would  be  incomplete  without  some 
recognition  of  the  indebtedness  which  Mr.  Campbell  felt  and  would 
wish  to  express  not  only  to  the  persons  already  indicated,  but  to 
the  many  other  federal  officials  who  personally  and  through  their 
publications  gave  him  great  assistance;    to  Southern  officials  in 

XV 


PREFACE 

various  departments  of  government  whose  uniform  courtesy,  under- 
standing— especially  the  understanding  of  his  motives  and  pur- 
poses— and  co-operation  were  of  such  help  and  encouragement  to 
him  throughout  his  field  study  and  later  work;  to  many  in  private 
life  in  the  South,  physicians,  teachers,  ministers,  bishops,  and 
executive  officials  of  church  boards  in  North  and  South;  and  to 
presidents  of  colleges,  principals  of  schools,  and  scores  of  teachers 
in  the  church  and  independent  schools  visited,  county  superin- 
tendents of  education,  and  others  who  constitute  a  host  to  whom 
only  a  general  but  none  the  less  sincere  expression  of  gratitude  can 
be  made. 

The  book,  as  planned,  was  intended  to  "define  and  clarify,  and 
to  point  out  opportunities  and  responsibilities."  It  has  not  been 
possible  always  to  carry  the  plan  to  the  full  extent  that  was 
intended,  nor  even  to  follow  exactly  the  outline  suggested  in 
Chapter  1.  There  are  too,  doubtless,  certain  things  to  which  Mr. 
Campbell  would  have  given  an  interpretation  somewhat  different 
from  that  presented  here;  other  things  perhaps  to  which  he  would 
not  have  given  expression;  still  others  which  would  have  been 
treated  fully  and  must  now  be  left  with  little  or  no  mention.  Sub- 
stantially, however,  the  book  is  as  he  planned  it.  It  is  hoped  that 
the  reader  will  view  it  in  the  spirit  in  which  it  was  undertaken,  and 
if  he  feels  any  lack  of  sympathetic  understanding,  any  narrowness 
or  prejudice,  attribute  the  limitations  to  her  whose  privilege  and 
responsibility  it  has  been  to  make  ready  the  manuscript  for  publi- 
cation. 

Olive  Dame  Campbell. 


xvi 


FOREWORD 

TO  MY  FRIEND  WHO  MAY  READ  THIS  BOOK 

IN  addressing  this  foreword  to  you  I  am  not  certain  at  the 
moment  just  whom  I  am  addressing.  You  may  be  a  high 
administrative  official  in  a  far-away  northern  or  southern 
metropolis,  endeavoring  to  the  best  of  your  ability  to  shape  and 
direct  the  mission  work  under  your  charge  for  the  Southern  High- 
lander; or  you  may  be  the  Southern  Highlander  himself,  who  like 
the  rest  of  us  does  not  at  all  relish  the  idea  of  being  uplifted  or 
missionary-ized.  Possibly  you  are  a  mission  worker  from  North 
or  South  who  feels  that  your  urban-minded  bishop  or  superin- 
tendent does  not  comprehend  your  problems  or  fully  sympathize 
with  them,  because  he  keeps  to  the  Pullman  routes  of  travel  and 
frequents  all  too  little  the  bridle  path  which  leads  to  your  dwelling. 
Perhaps  you  are  just  an  eager  American,  interested  in  a  wonder- 
fully picturesque  section  of  your  own  country,  wanting  to  be  told 
facts  about  it  by  someone  who  is  supposed  to  know;  or  a  member 
of  some  church,  wondering  if  the  work  which  is  being  done  and  to 
which  you  contribute  is  well  conceived  and  well  administered. 

it  would  be  an  easy  matter  to  fill  these  pages  with  figures,  but 
should  I  do  so  I  know,  and  you  know,  that  you  would  not  want 
to  read  this  book.  Besides,  statistics,  however  carefully  gathered, 
tell  only  partial  truths,  and  conditions  have  changed  so  rapidly  in 
certain  sections  of  the  mountains  as  to  make  it  impossible  to  keep 
any  data  properly  checked.  Only  such  figures,  therefore,  have  been 
included  as  appeared  necessary  for  an  understanding  of  the  subject 
under  discussion. 

The  things  that  I  am  telling  are  some  of  the  things  that  seem  to 
me  worth  telling.  You  know  that  you  would  not  want  me  to  relate 
in  public  print  all  that  >ou  have  confessed  to  me,  even  though  you 
might  like  to  know  what  others  have  confided  to  me  of  themselves. 
The  revelations  that  friends  make  to  friends  in  moments  of  con- 
2  xvii 


FOREWORD 

there  was  any  thought  of  upHft  it  was  not  recognized  as  such,  but 
regarded  merely  as  a  debt  of  gratitude  to  be  paid  by  his  son. 

In  our  highest  and  best  moments  we  all  recognize  ourselves  as 
Americans,  equall)'  at  home  in  any  part  of  this  land  of  ours.  Every 
moment,  however,  is  not  our  highest  and  best.  We  have  been 
Northerners  and  Southerners,  Easterners  and  Westerners,  and 
Hyphenates.  With  the  going  of  the  hyphen  must  go  sectional 
designations.  As  an  American,  born  in  the  West,  educated  in  the 
East,  and  by  preference  a  resident  of  the  South,  the  writer  has  felt 
what  you  sometimes  have  felt — the  provincialisms  of  the  different 
sections.  He  has  almost  wished  at  times,  my  Southern  friend,  that 
he  might  have  first  seen  the  light  of  day  south  of  the  Mason  and 
Dixon  line,  for  then  you  would  have  accepted  him  as  one  of  you 
always,  even  though  he  lived  the  rest  of  his  life  north  of  that  line. 
In  your  eyes,  had  that  been  the  case,  he  would  have  been  just  a 
bit  different  person  from  what  he  seems  because  he  was  born  north 
of  that  line  and  has  lived  half  his  life  south  of  it,  hospitably  accepted 
as  he  has  been  by  you. 

It  must,  however,  in  all  fairness  be  said  that  you,  my  Southern 
administrative  friend,  have  sought  from  him  such  assistance  as  he 
was  able  to  give,  and  in  accepting  it  have  evidenced  the  same 
broadmindedness  as  my  Northern  administrative  friend.  That 
you  have  not  full  control  over  many  of  your  difficulties,  often  the 
same  as  those  that  confront  him,  you  as  well  as  he  have  admitted 
in  confidence.  Moreover  you,  just  as  cordially  as  he,  have  given 
to  the  writer  the  advice,  help,  and  criticism  which  he  has  sought 
from  you. 

In  our  work  in  the  Highlands,  whether  we  be  from  a  mission, 
independent,  or  public  school,  or  whether  we  be  a  social  worker, 
if  we  may  use  that  much  abused  and  much  misunderstood  term, 
and  from  whatever  section  we  come,  it  should  be  remembered  that 
if  we  deal  on  intimate  terms  with  the  Highlander  or  his  children, 
a  fine  code  of  ethics— equal  to  that  of  a  physician  or  nurse — should 
be  observed.  We  need  not  go  to  his  land  unless  we  wish,  nor  to 
his  home;  but  having  gone,  received  his  welcome  and  shared  his 
hospitality,  it  behooves  us,  if  we  cannot  maintain  that  courteous 
code,  to  leave. 

However  far  the  writer  may  fall  short  in  the  pages  following  of 

XX 


FOREWORD 


satisfying  your  desire  for  knowledge  or  even  your  curiosity,  he  has 
endeavored  to  set  forth  such  things  as  will,  he  hopes,  tend  to  bring 
about  a  better  understanding.  While  for  purposes  of  description 
we  must  use  the  terms  Highland  and  Lowland,  Northern  and 
Southern,  Eastern  and  Western,  it  is  his  hope  that  he  has  used 
them  in  such  a  way  and  with  such  a  spirit  as  to  hasten  the  time 
when  we  shall  all  be  known  by  the  simple  designation,  American. 

If  enough  of  importance  be  attached  to  any  statement  in  these 
pages  to  make  that  statement  appear  an  unjust  reflection  upon  a 
particular  section,  we  ask  that  pardon  be  granted.  Our  sole  hope 
has  been  that  if  the  thought  and  feeling  of  different  sections  be 
understood  even  in  part  through  a  fallible  presentation  of  them, 
efforts  for  betterment  might  be  undertaken  with  a  sympathy  so 
large  as  to  sense  the  part  each  section  is  to  have  in  the  formation 
of  the  national  character  that  is  to  be,  when  complete  under- 
standing shall  exist,  when  the  need  of  one  shall  be  recognized  as 
the  rightful  concern  of  all,  and  when  there  shall  be  no  thought  of 
dependence  other  than  the  mutual  dependence  of  brothers. 

A  ministerial  friend  of  mine  once  prepared  a  sermon  especially 
for  a  certain  sinner  in  his  congregation  and  preached  it  at  her  with 
all  the  power  that  was  his.  When  he  came  from  the  pulpit  she  was 
the  first  to  take  him  by  the  hand  and  thank  him  for  his  sermon, 
which  she  said  she  enjoyed  the  more  in  that  none  of  it  applied  to  her. 

The  writer  would  say  that  when  he  speaks  of  conditions  and 
work  generally  in  the  Highlands,  he  has  in  mind  tendencies  and 
groups  rather  than  special  instances  and  individuals.  But  if  you, 
making  a  personal  application,  are  conscious  of  being  one  of  a 
group  evidencing  tendencies  that  should  not  exist,  what  he  has 
written  is  meant  for  you.  If,  on  the  other  hand,  you  belong  in  such 
a  group  and  do  not  recognize  the  fact,  his  sense  of  failure  will  be 
mitigated  somewhat  by  the  thought  that  in  other  parts  of  the  book 
you  will  perhaps  have  found  something  worth  while. 

Let  us  now  come  to  the  Highlands— a  land  of  promise,  a  land 
of  romance,  and  a  land  about  which,  perhaps,  more  things  are 
known  that  are  not  true  than  of  any  part  of  our  country. 


XXI 


New  times  demand  new  measures  and  new  men; 
The  world  advances,  and  in  time  outgrows 
The  laws  that  in  our  fathers'  day  were  best; 
And,  doubtless,  after  us,  some  purer  scheme 
Will  be  shaped  out  by  wiser  men  than  we. 
Made  wiser  by  the  steady  growth  of  truth. 

Truth  is  eternal,  but  her  effluence. 
With  endless  change,  is  fitted  to  the  hmir; 
Her  mirror  is  turned  forward  to  reflect 
The  promise  of  the  future,  not  the  past. 

— James  Russell  Lowell. 


CHAPTER  I 
MORE  OR  LESS  PERSONAL 

NEARLY  twenty-five  years  ago  the  writer  entered  the  South- 
ern Highlands  as  a  teacher.  The  spot  where  his  education 
began  was  a  Httle  mountain  hamlet  many  miles  from  a  rail- 
road. Rival  towns  defeated  at  baseball  were  wont  to  refer  to  us 
as  a  "wide  place  in  the  Big  Road,"  as  the  public  highway  was 
called,  but  it  was  wounded  pride  that  led  to  such  disparagement. 
Our  breadth  was  caused  by  the  crossing  of  two  roads,  not  by  the 
widening  of  one.  Clustered  about  the  cross-roads  were  the  four 
buildings  which  constituted  our  business  section.  Naturally  the 
post-office  was  an  edifice  of  importance,  for  there  we  called  daily 
for  the  letter  someone  might  chance  to  write  us,  and  we  never 
could  be  sure  when  the  package  of  seed  from  our  congressman 
might  arrive. 

But  of  first  importance,  and  dearest  to  the  hearts  of  all,  were  our 
three  emporia  that  competed  with  each  other  in  a  leisurely  way  in 
the  sale  of  coffee,  coal  oil,  sidemeat,  sugar,  flour,  calico,  snuff,  to- 
bacco, and  a  few  other  necessities. 

Our  complacency  in  matters  of  mere  getting  and  spending  was 
occasioned  by  our  deep  interest  in  subjects  of  real  importance — 
politics  and  religion.  The  prominent  place  accorded  our  marts  of 
trade,  in  fact  the  reason  of  their  being,  was  that  they  were,  after 
all,  council  lodges,  or  fora,  if  you  please,  where  vital  topics  were 
discussed  in  daily  sessions  by  the  Solons  of  the  countryside.  In- 
cluding the  post-office,  each  building  commanded  an  angle  of  the 
cross-roads,  and  the  four  together  the  cardinal  points  of  the  com- 
pass. The  breezes  that  tempered  the  summer's  heat  must  of  neces- 
sity pass  through  one  of  them,  and  our  sages  adjourned  from  coun- 
cil chamber  to  council  chamber  under  the  influence  of  sun,  shade, 
and  breeze — and  in  winter,  of  firewood  supply — to  secure  a  maxi- 
mum of  comfort  with  a  minimum  of  exertion.    Such  was  the  visible 


THE  SOUTHERN  HIGHLANDER 

center  of  our  municipal  life,  which  ministered  both  to  our  bodily 
and  intellectual  need. 

The  chance  traveler  over  the  Big  Road  would  know  little  of  the 
teeming  life  hidden  away  in  the  nearby  coves  and  clearings.  Chil- 
dren abounded;  in  fact  they  were  the  chief  asset  of  the  com- 
munity, if  community  it  could  be  called;  and  on  the  opening  day 
of  school  the  Professor,  as  he  now  came  to  be  known,  faced  a  group 
of  one  hundred  and  eighty-five  students,  ranging  in  age  from  five 
to  twenty-five. 

When  the  enrolment  was  complete,  he  was  dismayed  to  find  that 
he  was  called  upon  to  instruct  not  only  Polly  Ann,  Victoria,  and 
Australia;  but  Noah,  Isaac,  Joseph,  and  Jesse,  Daniel,  Malachi, 
and  Elisha;  John  Wesley  and  his  little  brother  Luther;  Virgil, 
Homer,  and  Pliny;  Cyrus,  Alexander,  and  Napoleon;  Columbus; 
and  our  own  George  Washington  and  Grover  Cleveland.  "  Whence 
these  names?"  was  the  instinctive  query. 

George  Washington  was  not  the  only  one  who  could  fell  a  tree. 
Little  Joseph,  too,  swung  a  lusty  axe,  and  Pliny  did  not  "ride  the 
saw,"  but  did  his  full  share  with  his  big  brother  Homer  in  cutting 
up  the  logs  for  firewood.  Surrounded  by  great  ones  performing 
their  tasks  greatly,  the  Professor  would  not  fail  in  performance  of 
his  duties.  Therefore  until  he  could  effect  an  exchange  of  skill 
for  courtesy  by  satisfying  John  Wesley's  ambition  to  become  a 
curve  pitcher,  the  Professor  would  rise  at  4:30  in  the  morning  and 
saw  and  split  enough  wood  to  last  the  household  during  the  day. 
From  eight  to  four  (save  for  the  noon  hour)  he  taught,  and  after 
school  was  over  continued  his  education  by  making  "mission" 
furniture  from  barrels  and  dry-goods  boxes,  and  rustic  furniture 
from  gleanings  in  the  forest  to  supplement  the  cook-stove,  bed- 
springs,  dining-room  table,  and  the  few  chairs  brought  in  from  the 
county-seat. 

By  virtue  of  his  position  as  principal  of  the  school,  he  was  also 
superintendent  of  the  Union  Sunday  school,  and  teacher  of  the 
men's  bible  class.  Although  this  was  a  Union  Sunday  school,  har- 
mony did  not  always  prevail,  for  loyal  theological  allegiance  was 
given  to  Methodist,  Baptist,  "Campbellite,"  Old  School  Presby- 
terian, Cumberland  Presbyterian,  Ujiiversalist,  and  Perfectionist 
beliefs.    Occasionally  a  Primitive  Baptist  was  in  attendance,  who 

2 


MORE   OR    LESS    PERSONAL 

had  overcome  his  theoretical  objection  to  Sabbath  schools  in  his 
need  of  social  diversion.  It  was  often  difficult,  despite  earnest 
effort,  to  steer  the  discussion  between  the  Scylla  of  dogma  and  the 
Charybdis  of  polity  and  practice.  Methods  of  baptism  would  come 
to  the  fore,  and  polemics  between  those  of  Calvinistic  and  those  of 
Arminian  persuasion  could  not  always  be  avoided.  The  Perfec- 
tionist, theoretically  unable  to  sin,  found  it  easy  to  step  from  his 
pedestal  in  anger  induced  by  apt  Scriptural  quotations,  recalled  for 
his  benefit  by  others  of  the  class;  and  the  lone  Universalist  waged 
a  losing  battle  against  all  his  fellow-members,  steadfastly  united 
through  belief  in  eternal  punishment. 

The  death  of  the  Universalist  brought  the  first  break  in  the 
ranks  of  the  Sabbath  school  class,  and  relaxed,  too,  for  the  time 
being,  the  rigid  hold  of  dogmas.  The  Missionary  Baptist  gave  evi- 
dence of  his  kinship  to  the  departed  by  making  his  rough  casket. 
The  Old  School  Presbyterian  and  the  Campbellite  combined  their 
funds  to  send  to  the  county-seat  for  black  calico  and  nickel  nails 
to  adorn  the  pine  box  fashioned  by  Baptist  hands.  The  Methodist 
loaned  his  new  wagon  for  the  hearse,  and  the  Cumberland  Presby- 
terian his  mules  for  the  cortege.  The  wives  of  other  members 
united  in  making,  or  loaning,  garments  of  mourning  for  the  be- 
reaved widow  and  daughters;  and  all  lamented  a  brother  and 
neighbor  lost  to  class  and  community. 

This  touch  of  nature  which  made  us  all  kin  did  not,  however, 
keep  us  akin,  for  despite  fervent  hopes  the  day  of  burying  denomi- 
national hatchets  had  not  yet  dawned.  A  militant  evangelist  from 
an  aggressive  denomination,  feeling  called  to  give  overemphasis  to 
isolated  Scriptural  texts,  made  great  inroads  into  the  ranks  of  the 
local  churches;  and  two  itinerant  Mormon  elders  almost  con- 
vinced the  Perfectionist  that  his  perfection  might  be  of  an  abso- 
lutely perfect  brand  were  he  to  unite  with  them. 

In  spite  of  the  number  of  denominations  represented  in  the  com- 
munity, and  the  fact  that  there  were  two  church  houses  and  the 
school  house,  all  open  to  preachers,  preaching  services  were  held 
but  once  a  month.  The  Professor,  to  supply  the  need,  was  urged 
to  add  to  his  duties  by  holding  services  appropriate  for  Sunda>- 
on  every  Sunday  night.  He  accepted,  and  being  young,  ventured 
one  evening  to  avail  himself  of  the  opportunity  offered  to  reconcile 

3 


THE  SOUTHERN  HIGHLANDER 

theological  differences  and  animosities  by  quoting  what  he  regarded 
as  unquestionable  authority  from  the  Scriptures,  the  words  of  the 
Great  Teacher  addressed  to  the  Woman  of  Samaria  when  she  put 
to  Him  a  question  pertaining  to  religious  form  rather  than  to 
spirit.^  The  echoes  of  the  closing  hymn  had  scarcely  died  away 
when  he  was  confronted  by  a  group  whose  spokesman,  white  with 
anger,  demanded  whether  he  had  ever  been  to  college  and  studied 
Greek.  The  angry  disputant  could  not  read  English,  but  he  none 
the  less  felt  able  to  inform  the  Professor  with  much  emphasis  that 
certain  ceremonies  referred  to  in  the  address  must  be  performed 
in  definitely  prescribed  ways  because  the  "  'riginal  Greek"  meant 
but  one  thing,  and  by  no  possible  exegesis  could  be  construed  to 
mean  anything  else. 

The  questions  that  presented  themselves  thus  early  were  how 
denominational  differences  might  be  minimized,  at  least  to  the 
extent  of  co-operation  in  the  large  things  upon  which  all  denomina- 
tions agree;  and,  furthermore,  how  the  head  of  a  denominational 
school  in  the  mountains  could  promote  these  larger  things  without 
appearing,  by  reason  of  his  very  connection  with  such  a  school,  to 
be  in  the  community  for  the  purpose  of  advancing  the  interests 
of  that  denomination.  For  a  number  of  years  the  latter  question 
was  merely  academic  because  of  the  liberal  policy  pursued  by 
the  board  under  whose  auspices  the  particular  school  in  which  he 
taught  was  conducted.  Fortunately  for  him,  the  officials  of  the 
board  did  not  regard  it  as  essential  that  he  should  be  a  minister,  or 
even  that  he  be  affiliated  with  the  denomination  maintaining  this 
academy.  His  position  in  the  community  was  that  of  a  teacher 
incidentally  helping  out  in  the  Sunday  evening  services,  and  not 
that  of  a  preacher,  a  denominational  champion,  incidentally  teach- 
ing. 

In  the  view  of  his  neighbors  and  his  class  it  did  not,  therefore, 
fall  to  him  to  police  the  convictions  of  the  community;  and  it  was 
not  resented  when  he  and  some  other  members  of  the  class  did  not 
acquiesce  fully  in  the  views  of  the  extreme  Predestinarians  as  to 
the  unavoidableness  of  the  death  of  our  classmate.  In  our  judg- 
ment he  might  have  been  helped  by  calling  the  doctor  from  the 
county-seat,  when  the  local  doctor  was  too  drunk  to  operate  and 

1  John  IV,  2  1  to  24. 

4 


MORE    OR    LESS    PERSONAL 

give  him  the  one  chance  for  life  that  an  operation  afforded.  Nor 
did  we  beHeve  that  it  had  been  decreed  from  before  the  founda- 
tions of  the  earth  that  Minty,  who  hobbled  daily  the  weary  three 
miles  to  school,  must  limp  through  life  because  the  same  doctor 
when  called  had  been  too  drunk  to  set  her  broken  leg.  To  sisters  in 
travail  good  women  ministered  as  best  they  could,  but  joy  in 
many  a  home  was  turned  to  mourning  because  there  was  no  one 
who  knew  how  to  help  in  the  right  way.  Powerless  in  these  times 
of  sorrow  and  need,  the  Professor  wondered  often  whence  help 
would  come,  and  whether  he  had  not  erred  in  judgment  in  not  fol- 
lowing out  the  half-formed  resolve  of  college  days  to  study  medi- 
cine. 

As  the  complexity  and  oversupply  of  things  theological  tended  to 
divide  the  elders,  especially  when  it  was  felt,  justly  or  unjustly, 
that  undue  importance  in  leadership  was  being  given  to  one 
denomination,  so  the  lack  of  any  social  organization  whatsoever 
for  the  young  people  acted  to  keep  them  apart.  The  organization 
of  the  ball-nine  helped  out  the  boys  as  boys,  and  was  the  most 
potent  factor  in  the  community  in  winning  them  from  very  ques- 
tionable practices;  but  there  were  few  opportunities  for  boys  and 
girls  to  come  together  socially.  Practically  the  only  opportunity 
for  this,  or  for  girls  to  meet  with  other  girls,  was  at  funerals,  prayer 
meeting.  Sabbath  school,  and  occasional  preachings. 

Only  the  uninitiated,  or  the  wilfully  blind  optimist,  could  ascribe 
the  great  gatherings  at  funerals  or  the  occasional  church  meetings 
to  instinctive  religious  aspirations;  they  were  an  evidence  not 
alone  of  religious  aspiration,  but  of  social  hunger,  in  old  and  young 
alike,  using  these  avenues  for  its  satisfaction.  The  taboo  put  by 
various  denominations  upon  many  amusements  relegated  them 
to  the  few  homes  in  the  community  where  such  amusements  were 
often  associated  with  pastimes  justly  tabooed. 

In  his  endeavor  to  be  a  clear-eyed  optimist,  the  Professor  had  to 
admit,  to  himself  at  least,  that  the  crowding  to  the  fount  of  learn- 
ing was  not  due  merely  to  a  desire  to  slake  a  thirst  for  knowledge. 
One  hesitates  to  question  the  foundation  upon  which  so  much  of 
delightful  romance  relating  to  the  mountain  youth's  eagerness  for 
knowledge  is  builded,  but  speaking  for  this  one  school  it  must  be 
said  that  attendance  was  due,  in  large  part,  to  a  desire  to  satisfy 

5 


THE  SOUTHERN  HIGHLANDER 

the  social  instinct.  Not  all  of  our  boys  were  Abraham  Lincolns, 
burning  with  zeal  for  learning;  nor  were  all  the  girls  impelled  to 
seek  an  education  by  a  desire  to  marry  missionaries  to  China. 

Our  school  was  a  very  good  school  of  its  kind,  and  we  were  justly 
proud  of  it.  We  had  more  and  better  grades  than  some  of  the 
county-seats  adjoining;  we  had  better  textbooks  and  a  better 
library;  and  the  teaching,  such  as  it  was,  was  not  bad.  How  proud 
we  would  have  been  then  could  we  have  foreseen  that  a  number  of 
our  boys  would  go  to  state  universities,  one  to  Yale;  that  some 
would  become  ministers  and  lawyers  of  promise;  and  that  through 
our  graduates  our  influence  would  be  felt  not  alone  in  the  cities  of 
the  South  but  to  some  extent  in  life  elsewhere. 

The  complacency  with  which  we  viewed  our  work  for  several 
years  was  destined  to  receive  a  severe  jolt.  It  was  at  the  noon 
hour,  after  a  busy  morning,  that  one  of  the  girls  came  to  the  desk. 
She  was  a  little  older  than  the  average  of  her  class,  and  had  shown 
some  hesitancy  about  entering  school  at  all.  On  looking  up  the 
Professor  noticed  that  she  had  been  weeping,  and  in  reply  to  his 
inquiry  she  said: 

"  I've  come  to  tell  you  good-bye,  for  I'm  aimin'  to  quit  school." 

"  But  why.  Myrtle?" 

"What's  the  use  of  educating  me?  I'm  only  a  girl,  and  they's 
eight  young  ones  at  home.    You  know  where  we  live." 

"  But  you  will  be  a  more  helpful  girl  with  an  education,  and  you 
will  have  a  much  wider  influence  through  your  own  home,  later." 

"That  ain't  fer  me,"  she  said;  and  in  answer  to  a  surprised  look, 
for  she  was  winsome,  "  Don't  you  see  what's  happening?  The  best 
boys,  the  only  kind  1  would  want  to  marry,  don't  stay  here  when 
they  finish  school.  There's  nothing  ahead  fer  me  but  to  stay  home 
and  let  my  men-folks  support  me,  or  to  marry  someone  I  don't 
want  now  1  been  to  school.  I'm  wanting  things  I  can't  have.  I'd 
better  be  left  in  my  ignorance." 

The  Professor  does  not  remember  all  he  said  in  reply,  but  he 
knows  it  was  inadequate.  Myrtle  did  remain  in  school.  For  a 
time  he  almost  regretted  her  decision,  for  her  presence  was  a 
protest  and  a  reminder  of  bitter  failure.  Another  stage  in  his  edu- 
cation had  been  reached  through  the  knowledge  that  the  school 
upon  which  he  had  prided  himself  had  failed. 

6 


MORE    OR    LESS    PERSONAL 

It  is  to  the  people  of  this  little  community  that  the  mind  of  the 
writer  reverts  again  and  again.  They  taught  him  more  than  he 
ever  taught  them.  If  anything  of  enlightenment  is  shed  upon  the 
problems  of  the  Highlands  in  the  following  pages,  it  is  due  in  large 
part  to  the  trains  of  thought  set  in  motion  by  them,  long  ago.  After 
a  quarter  of  a  century,  when  perplexing  questions  arise  as  to  how 
people  may  be  brought  to  work  together,  there  comes  to  him  the 
picture  of  Brother  C,  the  Baptist  preacher,  rising  from  his  seat  at 
the  closing  exercises  of  the  school;  and  he  hears  him  say  again: 

"We've  had  a  right  good  session,  and  are  proud  of  our  school; 
and  now,  this  being  the  last  meeting  of  the  year,  and  the  Professor 
going  to  his  home-folks  for  a  visit,  after  the  benediction  let's  all 
give  him  the  right  hand  of  fellowship,  while  we  sing  'God  be  with 
you  till  we  meet  again.'  " 

Before  him  in  memory  pass  Baptist,  Methodist,  Campbellite, 
Cumberland  Presbyterian,  Old  School  Presbyterian,  Perfectionist, 
and  sinner — especially  numerous — forgetting  all  about  their  dif- 
ferences in  their  loyal  pride  in  their  school,  the  common  community 
interest. 

Justification  for  this  personal  recital  is  not  that  the  experiences 
depicted  are  unique,  but  because  they  are  the  common  experiences 
of  many  teachers  in  the  mountain  country.  The  problems  and 
perplexities  that  confronted  one  teacher  in  this  one  little  com- 
munity are,  after  all,  questions  that  confront  all  rural  workers  not 
alone  in  the  Southern  Highlands  but  in  almost  every  part  of  our 
land.  They  are,  in  substance,  how  to  obtain  sympathetic  under- 
standing of  the  people  and  their  background,  unanimity  of  spirit 
rather  than  discord  by  reason  of  the  forms  that  embody  it,  better 
public  health  and  sanitation,  a  kind  of  school  that  does  not  divorce 
the  so-called  cultural  from  the  necessary  economic  life  of  the 
neighborhood,  and  practical  co-operation  toward  all  these  ends. 


CHAPTER  II 

THE  SOUTHERN  HIGHLANDS  AND  THE 
SOUTHERN  HIGHLANDER  DEFINED 

RECENTLY,  while  indulging  in  the  somewhat  melancholy 
pleasure  of  sorting  letters  and  manuscripts  yellowing  with 
-  age,  the  writer  uncovered  an  address  delivered  by  him  dur- 
ing his  first  year  of  acquaintance  with  the  mountain  people  and 
mountain  country.  The  address,  while  not  so  very  bad,  yet  gave 
evidence  of  that  comprehensive  knowledge  which  frequently  char- 
acterizes a  limited  acquaintance  with  the  subject  under  discussion. 
Since  that  time  he  has  heard  many  discourses  upon  mountain  ques- 
tions, builded  in  the  same  way,  and  of  similar  material.  All  were 
permeated  with  the  kindliest  feeling  for  the  mountaineer,  and  were 
colorful  with  descriptions  of  local,  exceptional,  or  picturesque  con- 
ditions, but  few  told  who  the  mountaineers  were,  or  where  they 
lived.  This  lack  of  information  was  supplied,  generally,  by  a  sweep- 
ing gesture  toward  the  South,  accompanying  the  statement,  "In 
the  mountains  of  our  fair  Southland  lives  a  people  of  purest  Anglo- 
Saxon  blood,  upon  whose  cabin  walls  hang  the  rifles  with  which 
their  illustrious  ancestors  at  King's  Mountain  turned  the  tide  of 
the  Revolution." 

Few  discourses  on  mountain  questions  are  complete  without  this 
reference.  The  audiences  to  whom  such  addresses  are  given,  unless 
nurtured  on  Fiske's  misinterpreted  and  misapplied  theory  that  the 
mountain  people  are  descendants  of  mean  and  indentured  whites 
of  colonial  days,'  would  feel  cheated  without  it.  They  look  for  it  as 
expectantly  as  the  Bostonian  does  for  the  closing  phrase  in  the 
Governor's  Thanksgiving  Proclamation,  "God  Save  the  Common- 
wealth of  Massachusetts." 

^  See  Appendix  B. 

8 


THE  HIGHLANDS  AND  HIGHLANDER  DEFINED 

If  the  speaker  has  French  blood,  there  is  certain  to  be  some  allu- 
sion to  the  Huguenots  and  the  Revocation  of  the  Edict  of  Nantes; 
if  German,  a  strong  reference  to  the  Palatinate  element  in  this 
early  stream  of  migration;  and  if  there  is  a  drop  of  Scotch- Irish 
blood  in  his  veins,  not  the  least  doubt  is  left  in  the  minds  of  the 
audience  as  to  who  the  mountain  people  are — they  are  the  worthy 
scions  of  this  worthy  stock,  and  all,  of  course,  Presbyterians  by 
heritage. 

The  writer  longs  for  the  certitude  of  knowledge  with  which  he 
spoke  twenty-five  years  ago.  But  fortunately  his  education  was 
not  allowed  to  end  there.  The  mountain  hamlet  where  he  lived, 
learned,  and  tried  to  teach,  lay  on  an  old  route  of  travel.  Occa- 
sionally there  would  straggle  through  the  cross-roads  a  train  of  can- 
vas-covered wagons,  and  at  times  he  had  privilege  of  converse  with 
the  hopeful  adventurer  in  search  of  the  Eldorado  lying  always  just 
beyond.  Now  and  again  the  stillness  of  the  night  would  bring  the 
echo  of  some  locomotive  threading  its  way  through  the  mountain 
defiles,  or  was  it  the  faint  whistle  of  a  packet  on  the  Tennessee? 
Such  experiences  served  to  intensify  his  desire  to  know  more  of 
the  early  pioneers  of  our  Highlands,  of  their  routes  of  travel,  their 
successors,  and  the  land  in  which  they  dwell. 

Associated  in  memory  with  these  experiences  are  others  of  col- 
lege days  in  the  Berkshire  Hills  of  far-away  Massachusetts.  Of 
these,  one  stands  out  vividly.  On  a  " mountain  day"  expedition  to 
the  top  of  Greylock,  the  return  trail  had  been  lost  in  a  gathering 
storm.  Forced  to  seek  shelter,  we  finally  made  our  way  to  the  door 
of  a  log  cabin,  such  a  cabin  as  one  may  see  today  nestling  near  the 
foot  of  Graybeard  or  Grandfather  in  the  Carolina  Blue  Ridge. 
Given  a  cordial  welcome  by  the  young  mother  within,  we  sought  to 
establish  friendly  relations  with  the  little  daughter  cuddled,  in  fear 
of  the  storm  and  in  shyness  of  strangers,  in  her  mother's  arms.  The 
fire  lighted  up  the  room  furnished  with  a  simplicity  one  might 
duplicate  in  many  a  mountain  cabin  of  the  South.  With  the  pass- 
ing of  the  storm  came  a  halloo  from  the  stalwart  young  husband,  as 
he  returned  from  the  clearing  with  axe  gleaming  over  his  shoulder. 
We  lingered  at  the  bend  to  wave  them  good-bye  as  they  watched 
us  down  the  trail — mother,  babe  now  in  father's  arms,  with  the 
rainbow  over  all. 

9 


THE  SOUTHERN  HIGHLANDER 

The  beauty  of  the  picture  Hves  fresh  in  the  writer's  memory,  but 
in  later  years  there  has  come  to  him  more  than  the  memory  of  its 
beauty.  To  the  haunting,  half-asked  question  of  the  connection 
between  this  family  group  and  the  straggling  train  through  the 
mountain  hamlet,  between  the  cabin  on  the  slope  of  the  Berkshires 
and  the  cabins  in  the  Southern  Highlands,  an  answer  has  at  last 
been  given.  What  he  saw  in  the  Berkshires,  and  what  one  still 
sees  occasionally  in  the  Green  Mountains  and  White  Mountains, 
the  Catskills  and  the  Adirondacks,  are,  as  it  were,  re-enacted 
scenes  of  the  great  drama  of  settlement  once  lived  from  New  Eng- 
land to  Georgia  along  the  frontier  line  moving  ever  toward  the 
West.  Physiographic  and  other  natural  causes  will  explain  why  in 
our  Southern  Highlands  these  scenes  persist  along  lingering  seg- 
ments of  that  frontier  line;  and  why  they  are  found  only  at  isolated 
points  in  the  Highlands  of  the  North. 

Although  we  must  limit  ourselves  to  a  discussion  of  the  Southern 
Highlands,  it  is  well  to  keep  in  mind  that  Southern  and  Northern 
Highlands  together  constitute  a  whole,  a  great  upland  realm  ex- 
tending twelve  hundred  miles  or  more  from  northeast  to  southwest. 
Distinctive  social  customs  and  standards  of  living,  so  interesting 
to  many,  are  strange  only  when  one  forgets  that  these  were  com- 
mon to  the  daily  life  of  our  pioneer  fathers  North  and  South  alike, 
but  a  few  decades  ago  as  history  is  measured.  Some,  still  young 
though  growing  gray,  whose  childhood  days  were  of  the  West,  will 
recall  a  share  in  this  life  and  in  these  customs. 

THE  SOUTHERN  HIGHLANDS 
But  where  are,  and  what  are  the  Southern  Highlands,  and  who 
are  the  Southern  Highlanders?  For  purposes  of  discussion,  the 
writer  has  isolated  a  part  of  the  great  Appalachian  province  which 
extends  from  New  York  to  central  Alabama,  and  has  called  it  the 
Southern  Highlands.  Within  the  boundaries  of  this  territory  are 
included  the  four  western  counties  of  Maryland;  the  Blue  Ridge, 
Valley,  and  Allegheny  Ridge  counties  of  Virginia;  all  of  West  Vir- 
ginia; eastern  Tennessee;  eastern  Kentucky;  western  North  Caro- 
lina; the  four  northwestern  counties  of  South  Carolina;  northern 
Georgia;  and  northeastern  Alabam.a.  Our  mountain  region,  of 
approximately  112,000  square  miles,  embraces  an  area  nearly  as 

10 


THE  HIGHLANDS  AND  HIGHLANDER  DEFINED 

large  as  the  combined  areas  of  New  York  and  New  England,  and 
almost  equal  to  that  of  England,  Scotland,  Ireland,  and  Wales. ^ 

The  boundary  which  we  have  regarded  as  dividing  the  Southern 
Highlands  from  their  northern  extension  is  the  famous  Mason  and 
Dixon  line.  More  specifically,  this  boundary  line  begins  at  the 
northeast  corner  of  Frederick  County,  Maryland,  and  extends  west 
to  the  southwest  corner  of  Pennsylvania,  thence  north  along  the 
western  boundary  of  Pennsylvania  to  the  point  where  the  Ohio 
leaves  the  state  just  west  of  Pittsburgh.  For  purposes  of  conven- 
ience the  southern,  or  more  properly  the  southwestern  boundary, 
may  be  considered  as  a  base  line  running  diagonally  northwest  to 
southeast,  passing  through  the  neighborhood  of  Birmingham,  Ala- 
bama, and  terminating  in  the  southeast  corner  of  Coosa  and  the 
northwest  corner  of  Winston  Counties.  An  approximate  eastern 
boundary  for  this  extended  territory  is  formed  by  connecting  the 
northern  and  southern  boundaries  by  a  curved  line  passing  in  a 
southwesterly  direction  slightly  to  the  east  of  Frederick,  Maryland, 
through  Lynchburg,  Virginia,  a  little  to  the  east  of  Asheville,  North 
Carolina,  through  Spartanburg,  South  Carolina,  and  to  the  north 
of  Atlanta,  Georgia.  This  line  is  roughly  paralleled  by  the  western 
boundary  which,  beginning  at  Pittsburgh,  continues  down  the  Ohio 
to  Kentucky,  coinciding  with  the  northwestern  boundary  of  West 
Virginia,  and  follows  the  river  nearly  to  Maysville,  Kentucky — the 
Limestone  of  pioneer  days,  where  river  immigrants  disembarked 
for  their  cross-country  journey.-  From  this  point  it  passes  south- 
west through  TuUahoma,  Tennessee,  and  Decatur,  Alabama. 
\,  The  lines  by  which  the  Southern  Highlands  are  defined  are  not 
chosen  arbitrarily.  They  correspond  for  the  most  part  with  bounr 
daries  of  natural  divisions;  on  the  east  with  the  face  of  the  Blue 
Ridge,  which  defines  the  western  margin  of  the  Piedmont  Plateau, 
on  the  south  with  the  upper  limits  of  the  Coastal  Plain,  and  on  the 
west  with  the  western  escarpment  of  the  Allegheny-Cumberland 

1  A  word  of  explanation  is  necessary  to  those  who  in  earlier  years  have  sought 
from  the  writer  data  for  addresses  and  publications.  To  the  counties  previously 
enumerated  by  him  he  has  added  the  four  western  counties  of  Maryland,  and  also 
Winston  and  \\'alker  Counties  of  Alabama.  The  area  and  population  of  the  region 
included  under  the  name  of  Southern  Highlands  are  therefore  slightly  larger  than 
previously  accounted. 

^  More  accurately,  it  is  a  little  east  of  Maysville,  at  the  point  where  the  western 
line  of  Lewis  County  touches  the  Ohio. 

3  II 


THE  SOUTHERN  HIGHLANDER 

Plateau.  The  northern  Hne,  in  part  purely  political,  was  in  its  be- 
ginnings a  surveyor's  line  to  determine  a  boundary  dispute  of  long 
standing,  growing  out  of  the  claims  of  Penn  and  Lord  Baltimore. 

The  name  Southern  Highlands  has  been  chosen  for  several  rea- 
sons. Southern  Appalachians  is  a  term  sometimes  used,  but  inas- 
much as  this  term  is  limited  by  geographers  to  that  part  of  the 
Appalachian  mountain  system  lying  south  of  the  New  River  Divide 
in  southern  Virginia,  some  other  name  for  the  whole  territory 
under  consideration  is  necessary.  The  designation  Southern  Moun- 
tains has  also  been  used.  But  because  so  often  descriptions  of  de- 
pressed social  conditions,  which  are  true  only  of  limited  areas,  have 
been  given  without  qualification  as  existing  throughout  the  South- 
ern mountains,  this  term  has  come  to  carry  with  it  the  implication 
that  such  conditions  prevail  generally  throughout  the  region. 

The  traveler  who  follows  the  trails  of  this  far  country,  fords  its 
rushing  streams,  and  forces  his  way  through  thickets  of  rhododen- 
dron and  laurel  to  rest  upon  some  beech-shaded  bank  of  moss,  and 
who  toward  sunset  checks  his  horse  upon  the  ridge  to  trace  the 
thread  of  smoke  which  signals  welcome,  may  yet  be  at  a  loss  for  a 
name  to  describe  the  land;  but  when  at  dawn  he  wakes  with  mist 
rising  from  every  cove  and  valley,  and  echoes  still  sounding  of 
half-remembered  traditions,  folk-lore  and  folk-songs,  recited  or 
sung  before  the  fire  by  "granny"  or  "grandpap,"  he  knows  there 
is  but  one  name  that  will  do  it  justice — the  Southern  Highlands. 

It  is  a  land  of  mountains,  valleys,  and  plateaus.  Each  of  the 
three  parallel  belts  which  lying  lengthwise,  northeast  to  southwest, 
form  the  Highlands,  is  characterized  by  the  predominance  of  one  of 
the  physical  features  just  indicated.  The  outstanding  feature  of 
the  easternmost  belt  is  the  Blue  Ridge  Mountain  Range,  and  we 
call  this  belt  therefore  the  Blue  Ridge  Belt,  though  it  is  often  re- 
ferred to  technically  as  the  Appalachian  Mountain  Belt.  The 
western  is  known  as  the  Allegheny-Cumberland  or  Appalachian 
Plateau.  Between  these  truly  upland  belts  extends  the  Greater 
Appalachian  Valley,  better  known  in  its  several  parts  as  the  Valley 
of  Virginia,  the  Valley  of  East  Tennessee,  and  the  Coosa  River 
Valley  of  Georgia  and  Alabama. 

The  use  of  the  term  Valley,  as  applied  to  the  great  central  zone 
of  depression,  is  likely  to  mislead.     It  is  more  truly  a  valley-ridge 

12 


THE  HIGHLANDS  AND  HIGHLANDER  DEFINED 

section,  with  its  true  valley  feature  prominent  on  its  eastern  side 
and  with  ridges  toward  the  west.  The  floor  of  the  Valley  reaches  in 
southern  Virginia  an  altitude  of  from  2,600  to  2,700  feet  above  the 
sea,  descending  toward  the  north  to  an  altitude  of  500  feet  at 
Harper's  Ferry,  West  Virginia,  and  southward  to  500  feet  or  less  in 
Alabama.  The  whole  Southern  Highland  region  is  therefore  an 
upland  region,  with  a  great  central  depression,  and  not  merely  two 
separate  mountain  areas  with  a  dividing  valley. 

More  than  one-half  of  the  entire  territory  is  included  within  the 
Allegheny-Cumberland  Belt,  a  little  more  than  one-fourth  in  the 
Blue  Ridge  Belt,  and  something  less  than  one-fourth  in  the  Greater 
Appalachian  Valley.^ 

Blue  Ridge  Belt 

In  Maryland  and  Virginia  the  Blue  Ridge  Belt  is  narrow,  varying 
in  width  from  ten  to  sixteen  miles,  until  near  the  headwaters  of 
the  Roanoke  it  begins  to  expand  into  a  lofty  plateau.  This  plateau, 
lying  for  the  most  part  in  North  Carolina,  reaches  a  maximum 
width  of  seventy  miles,  and  a  maximum  height  in  Mount  Mitchell 
of  6,71 1  feet.  Passing  southward  into  Georgia,  it  becomes  irregular 
and  indefmite  until  it  is  lost  in  the  Piedmont  Plateau.  In  general 
outline  it  may  be  compared  to  a  narrow  lance-shaped  leaf  whose 
stem  is  the  single  Blue  Ridge  Range  of  Virginia,  and  whose  tip 
rests  in  the  region  of  Cartersville,  Georgia.  After  an  interval  of 
nearly  one  hundred  miles,  there  is  in  Alabama  a  recurrence  of  the 
belt  for  fifty  miles  in  the  Talladega  Mountains. 

The  Blue  Ridge  Range  proper,  from  its  point  of  expansion  in 
Virginia,  continues  southward  under  that  name  as  the  eastern 
border  of  the  plateau.  It  carries  the  main  divide  between  waters 
flowing  into  the  Atlantic  and  into  the  Gulf,  and  rises  from  an 
average  altitude  of  over  3,000  feet  to  a  height  of  almost  6,000  feet 
in  Grandfather  Mountain,  North  Carolina. 

Its  eastern  slopes  are  very  precipitous,  and  the  Yadkin,  Catawba, 
Broad,  and  other  streams  that  rise  here  and  make  their  way  to  the 
Atlantic,  dash  down  to  the  Piedmont  Plateau  below  in  a  series  of 
high  cascades  and  deep  gorges.  To  the  west  the  descent  is  more 
gradual.    Westward  flowing  streams  at  first  for  some  distance  pass 

'  For  full  data  on  area  of  belts,  see  Table  16  of  Appendix  E. 

13 


THE  SOUTHERN  HIGHLANDER 

through  broad  high  valleys.  Deepening  their  channels  as  they 
go,  the  rivers — chief  among  which  are  the  New,  Watauga,  Noli- 
chucky,  French  Broad,  Big  Pigeon,  Little  Tennessee,  Hiwassee,  and 
Ocoee — cut  through  the  mountains  bounding  the  northwest  edge 
of  the  plateau  in  deep  narrow  gorges,  and  escape  to  the  Greater 
Valley  and  eventually  to  the  Mississippi  and  Gulf. 

This  northwest  mountain  boundary  of  the  plateau  has  been  and 
still  is  known  locally  and  popularly  as  the  Great  Smokies,  from  the 
largest  of  the  segments  into  which  it  has  been  divided  by  the  river 
gorges,  but  the  general  name  Unaka  is  now  applied  to  the  whole 
range  as  well  as  to  two  of  its  five  principal  segments.  From  north- 
east to  southwest,  these  chief  segments  are  called  respectively  the 
Iron,  Unaka,  Bald,  Great  Smoky,  and  Unaka  Mountains. 

The  Unaka  Range,  although  it  does  not  bear  the  divide,  is  higher 
than  the  Blue  Ridge  and  more  rugged  on  both  its  eastern  and 
western  slopes.  1  n  point  of  fact  these  are  younger  mountains  which 
rose  so  gradually  on  the  western  edge  of  the  more  ancient  plateau 
as  to  permit  the  rivers  to  keep  their  early  westward  direction. 
While  it  is  difficult  to  give  an  average  height,  owing  to  the  broken 
character  of  the  range,  its  general  altitude  is  probably  about  5,000 
feet.  Two  of  its  peaks,  Guyot  and  Clingman's  Dome,  are  but  a 
few  feet  lower  than  Mount  Mitchell,  and  numerous  others  are 
above  6,000  feet. 

The  whole  plateau  section  lying  between  the  Blue  Ridge  and 
Unakas  is  cut  by  ridges  and  cross-ridges  which  have  no  uniform 
direction,  but  form  for  the  most  part  the  divides  between  the  main 
stream  basins,  and  are  connected  more  or  less  closely  with  the 
enclosing  ranges  to  the  east  and  west.  The  main  ridges  are  the 
Yellow,  Black,  Newfound,  Balsam,  Pisgah,  Cowee,  Nantahala, 
Cheoah,  and  Tusquitee  Mountains,  of  which  the  Black  (wherein 
lies  Mount  Mitchell),  the  Balsam,  and  Pisgah  Ranges  are  the 
highest. 

in  general,  the  mountains  of  the  Blue  Ridge  Belt  are  heavily 
wooded  to  the  top,  and  the  whole  region  is  one  of  extreme  beauty. 

Allegheny-Cumberland  Belt 
Bordering  the  Greater  Appalachian  Valley  on  the  northwest,  and 
facing  it  in  bold  escarpment,  is  the  Allegheny-Cumberland  Belt. 

14 


THE  HIGHLANDS  AND  HIGHLANDER  DEFINED 

Throughout  its  extent  it  is  a  plateau  belt,  although  to  parts  of  it 
in  both  northern  and  southern  Appalachians  the  name  mountains 
is  applied.  In  the  northern  Appalachians,  the  Catskill  Mountains 
of  New  York  and  the  Allegheny  Mountains  of  Pennsylvania  are 
really  misnomers,  arising  from  the  fact  that  the  edge  of  this  great 
plateau  wall  appears  to  the  traveler  approaching  from  the  sea- 
board as  another  mountain  range.  In  the  southern  Appalachians, 
the  Cumberland  Mountains  of  Kentucky  and  Tennessee  are,  in 
popular  usage,  coming  to  be  known  as  the  Cumberland  Plateau,  a 
much  more  descriptive  term. 

The  plateau  character  of  the  belt  is  much  more  prominently 
marked  in  Tennessee  and  Alabama  than  farther  north,  but  through- 
out its  course  it  may  be  viewed  as  a  great  wall  facing  the  Greater 
Appalachian  Valley  and  sloping  gradually  to  the  northwest  toward 
the  Interior  Lowlands. 

The  eastern  escarpment  of  the  Allegheny-Cumberland  Plateau 
Belt,  or  the  Allegheny  Front  as  it  is  here  called,  enters  the  northern 
limits  of  our  field  between  Cumberland  and  Frostburg,  Maryland. 
Along  the  Virginia-West  Virginia  boundary  it  rises  to  commanding 
heights,  it  declines  farther  south,  but  in  the  Big  Black  Mountains 
of  Virginia  and  Kentucky  again  attains  to  a  height  of  4,000  feet, 
in  Tennessee  the  plateau  is  much  lower  in  altitude.  At  Cumber- 
land Gap,  made  so  famous  in  early  settlement  and  later  civil  strife, 
its  altitude  is  from  3,000  to  3,200  feet,  while  the  height  of  the  Gap 
itself  is  but  1,649  f^^t. 

in  Alabama  the  eastern  part  of  the  plateau  is  deeply  cut  by  long 
narrow  valleys,  separated  by  isolated  plateaus.  The  easternmost 
of  these  plateaus  is  Lookout  Mountain,  the  eastern  face  of  which 
marks  the  boundary  between  the  Greater  Valley  and  the  Alle- 
gheny-Cumberland Belt  in  this  state.  To  the  west  beyond  Look- 
out and  Wills  Valley  lies  Sand  Mountain,  and  still  beyond,  the 
deeply  dissected  remnants  of  the  Cumberland  Plateau  proper, 
sloping  gently  to  the  southward  until  they  merge  into  the  Gulf 
Coastal  Plain. 

The  western  bounds  of  the  Allegheny-Cumberland  Belt  are  the 
western  boundary  of  West  Virginia,  the  broken  "knob  country" 
of  eastern  Kentucky  into  which  the  western  escarpment  of  the 
Cumberland  Plateau  is  here  worn,  and  the  irregular  but  more 

15 


THE  SOUTHERN  HIGHLANDER 

clearly  defined  line  of  this  escarpment  in  Tennessee  and  in  part  of 
Alabama.^ 

While  less  imposing,  the  wild  and  rugged  ridges  of  the  Allegheny 
Front  are  hardly  less  beautiful  than  the  loftier  wooded  peaks  and 
slopes  of  the  Blue  Ridge,  which  forms  the  front  of  the  eastern  belt. 

Greater  Appalachian  Valley 

Between  these  higher  belts,  the  Blue  Ridge  on  the  east  and  the 
Allegheny-Cumberland  on  the  west,  extends  the  Greater  Valley — 
itself  an  upland  region — which  has  played  so  important  a  part  in 
the  settlement  of  the  Southern  Highlands  and  in  the  history  of  our 
country. 

Toward  the  north  the  valley  character  of  this  great,  much  fluted 
valley  zone  is  more  marked  on  its  eastern  side.  In  Maryland  the 
distinctively  valley  portion  is  an  extension  of  the  Cumberland 
Valley  of  Pennsylvania.  In  Virginia  it  is  really  a  series  of  valleys, 
taking  their  names  from  their  rivers — the  Shenandoah,  the  James, 
the  Roanoke,  the  Kanawha  or  New,  and  the  Holston  or  Tennessee. 
In  general  configuration,  however,  the  Valley  is  continuous.  It  is 
often  referred  to  as  the  Shenandoah,  from  its  most  famous  part, 
but  is  better  known  in  its  entirety  as  the  Valley  of  Virginia. 

On  the  western  side  of  the  Greater  Valley  is  a  series  of  ridges 
known  collectively  as  the  Allegheny  Ridges,  lying  between  the 
Allegheny  Front  which  forms  the  eastern  escarpment  of  our  plateau 
belt,  and  the  true  valley  section  of  the  eastern  part  of  the  Greater 
Valley.  To  the  southward,  especially  in  Tennessee,  the  ridge  por- 
tion of  the  Valley  becomes  less  prominent  and  the  valley  character 
of  the  belt  more  marked,  although  in  Tennessee  there  are  still 
prominent  ridges  or  mountains  in  the  Greater  Valley. 

In  Georgia  and  Alabama  the  Valley  broadens  and  descends  in 
altitude,  the  valley  ridges  and  enclosing  mountain  walls  gradually 
lose  their  character,  and  the  whole  belt  becomes  indistinguishable 
from  the  rolling  plateau  and  coastal  plain  to  the  southward. 

The  gentle  beauty  of  much  of  the  Greater  Valley,  especially  on  its 
eastern  side,  with  its  green  fields  and  dark  cedars,  forms  a  marked 

^  The  Piedmont  Plateau  region,  lying  to  the  southeast  of  the  Blue  Ridge  Beit, 
and  the  Western  Piedmont  region,  or  Interior  Lowlands,  lying  to  the  northwest  of 
the  Allegheny-Cumberland  Plateau,  are  not  included  in  the  Southern  Highlands  as 
defined  in  this  study. 

i6 


Craggy  Mountain — in  the  Blue  Ridge 


mas^^Bm^i 


Allofilu'n\-(Aimberland  in-lt 
1  he  Deeply  Dissected   !>  pe  of  Topography  where  it   has  Lost  all  Semblance  to  a 

Plateau 


K 


m 


>   If: 


^' 


THE  HIGHLANDS  AND  HIGHLANDER  DEFINED 

contrast  to  the  ridges  that  border  it,  some  of  which  assume  true 
mountain  proportions.  This  belt  is  the  seat  of  many  flourishing 
cities  and  is  traversed  by  a  number  of  railroads;  yet  parts  of  it  are 
very  inaccessible,  and  almost  as  isolated  as  the  remote  sections  of 
the  higher  belts  to  east  and  west.^ 

Though  our  study  is  limited  to  the  territory  just  described,  we 
would  repeat  that  the  Southern  Highlands  should  not  be  disasso- 
ciated in  thought  from  their  northern  extension.  The  Allegheny- 
Cumberland  Belt  is  continued  in  the  so-called  Allegheny  Mountains 
of  Pennsylvania  and  in  the  Catskills  of  New  York.  The  Greater 
Appalachian  Valley  fmds  extension  to  the  northeast  in  the  Cumber- 
land and  Lebanon  Valleys  of  Pennsylvania,  and  the  Paulinskill  and 
Wallkill  Valleys  of  New  Jersey  and  New  York.  Though  the  moun- 
tain character  of  the  Blue  Ridge  Belt  loses  itself  in  the  modest  alti- 
tude of  South  Mountain  in  Pennsylvania,  the  belt  itself  is  traceable 
in  the  highlands  of  New  Jersey  and  New  York,  and  its  ancient 
remnants,  greatly  changed  by  geologic  forces,  may  be  followed  to 
the  northeast  in  the  Berkshire  Hills  and  Green  Mountains  of 
Massachusetts  and  Vermont,  and  on  into  Canada. 

In  considering  our  Highland  region,  or  the  entire  Appalachian 
province  of  which  it  is  a  part,  it  is  difficult  to  resist  the  lure  of  the 
geologist  who  invites  us  to  witness  its  first  narrow  crest  emerging 
from  the  primordial  sea,  and  to  hearken  to  the  roar  of  the  ocean 
upon  its  eastern  shore,  and  on  the  west  to  the  wash  of  the  waves 
of  a  once  great  inland  sea.  Portions  of  this  empire  are  indeed 
exceedingly  ancient,  and  the  eastern  belt  especially  includes  some 
of  the  oldest  lands  of  the  continent— a  fact  which  invests  the  region 
with  peculiar  appeal  to  the  imagination,  as  well  as  with  importance 
to  the  student  of  geology.  Equally  difficult  to  resist  is  the  temptation 
to  wander  in  the  fascinating  by-paths  of  its  more  recent  history, 
and  to  dwell  upon  the  geographic  influences  exerted  by  this  great 
barrier  which  has  been  so  potent  in  shaping  the  political,  social,  and 
economic  life  of  both  North  and  South. 

Those  who  would  understand  a  people  must  know  the  land  in 
which  they  dwell,  and  a  careful  study  of  the  topography  of  the 
Southern  Highlands  will  repay  the  painstaking  student.    A  study 

'  A  more  detailed  description  of  the  physiography  of  the  several  states  will  be 
found  in  Appendix  A. 

17 


THE  SOUTHERN  HIGHLANDER 

of  elevations,  depressions,  and  slopes  is  a  dry  task  in  and  of  itself, 
but  if  the  narrow  winding  valley  and  broad  fertile  plain,  the  iso- 
lated mesa  and  expansive  plateau,  the  steep  slope  and  towering 
peak  be  translated  into  terms  of  life,  the  study  becomes  of  absorb- 
ing interest  as  the  forces  are  revealed  which  have  influenced  some 
groups  to  face  the  future,  and  others  to  linger  in  the  past. 


THE  SOUTHERN  HIGHLANDER 

To  circumscribe  territory  and  give  it  a  name  is  one  thing;  to  call 
people  by  a  name  not  of  their  choosing  is  quite  another.  Obvi- 
ously, if  the  term  Southern  Highlands  be  allowed  for  the  land, 
native-born  residents  of  the  region  are  Southern  Highlanders.  Yet 
within  the  Highland  area  are  many  native-born  inhabitants  of 
urban  or  valley  residence  who  do  not  regard  themselves  as  moun- 
tain people.  The  writer  has  two  friends,  one  living  ifi  the  Greater 
Appalachian  Valley  and  one  in  a  prosperous  mountain  city,  and 
both  devoted  to  the  interests  of  their  own  people,  who  refer  in  con- 
versation to  "those  mountain  folks,"  although  at  other  times 
jocosely  alluding  to  themselves  as  "mountain  whites."  This  op- 
probrious term,  coined  as  a  term  of  distinction  by  well-meaning 
advocates  of  the  mountaineer,  is  resented  by  all  who  dwell  in  the 
Highlands,  by  whatever  name  they  may  be  designated. 

If  all  that  had  been  accomplished  by  illustrious  men  of  the  moun- 
tains, and  that  now  ennobles  the  history  of  their  several  states, 
had  been  recorded  to  the  glory  of  a  single  Appalachian  common- 
wealth, the  matter  of  nomenclature  might  be  easier.  Perhaps, 
then,  residents  of  the  "State  of  Appalachia"  would  have  been 
proud  to  call  themselves  "Appalachians,"  "Southern  Moun- 
taineers," or  "Southern  Highlanders."  They  might  even  have 
taken  the  "typical"  mountain  cabin,  now  the  cause  of  so  much  con- 
tention, as  their  state  crest,  with  encircling  wreath  of  mountain 
laurel,  and  underneath  have  inscribed  a  Latin  motto  expressive  of 
their  loyalty  and  pride.  The  mountain  areas  of  certain  states  are, 
to  be  sure,  so  large  and  so  influential  as  to  kindle  a  worthy  regional 
pride,  and  to  win  respectful  consideration  both  within  and  without 
the  state.  But  the  name  by  which  such  an  area  is  known  indicates 
merely  that  the  district  to  which  it  is  applied  lies  in  the  eastern  or 

i8 


THE  HIGHLANDS  AND  HIGHLANDER  DEFINED 

western  part  of  the  state.  It  does  not  convey  the  impression  that 
the  people  who  Hve  there  are  Highland  people. 

Without  at  all  raising  the  question  as  to  whether  some  other 
division  of  the  mountain  region  would  have  been  better  than  the 
existing  one,  the  fact  remains  that  the  Highlands  were  not  welded 
into  one  commonwealth,  nor  are  they  generally  regarded  as  a  con- 
tinuous tract.  They  lie  within  nine  Southern  states,  and  too  often 
are  called,  disparagingly  by  some  and  apologetically  by  others,  the 
"back-yards"  of  the  Southern  states.  It  is  not  easy  to  assign  a 
reason  for  the  feeling  which  has  found  expression  in  this  phrase, 
and  which  makes  it  difficult  to  define  the  Southern  Highlander. 
There  are,  however,  a  number  of  causes  which  indirectly  have  con- 
tributed to  it. 

Prominent  among  these  is  the  relation  borne  by  the  mountain 
region  to  the  states  within  which  it  is  included.  The  Highlands  as 
a  whole  make  up  about  one-third  of  the  total  areas  of  these  nine 
states.^  Their  population  is  nearly  a  third  of  the  total  population. 
Their  influence  is  less  easily  determined.  Highlands  and  Lowlands 
in  each  state  act  upon  each  other  reciprocally,  their  influence  vary- 
ing with  the  size  and  population  of  the  Highland  area  in  proportion 
to  the  state  area,  and  somewhat,  too,  with  its  topograph}'.  In 
certain  states  regional  differences  between  the  two  sections  have 
caused  a  difference  in  political  alignment.  Though  some  of  the 
mountain  areas  are  admittedly  the  garden-spots  of  their  states 
when  climate  and  scenery  are  considered,  and  others  are  contrib- 
uting largely  from  their  natural  resources  to  the  state  wealth,  the 

^  The  proportion  noted  above  by  no  means  represents  the  average  proportion  of 
the  mountain  area  in  each  state  to  its  respective  state  area.  West  Virginia,  for 
example,  is  a  mountain  state  in  its  entirety,  while  the  mountain  section  of  South 
Carolina,  the  smallest  state  mountain  area  with  the  exception  of  Maryland,  is  about' 
one-eleventh  of  the  entire  state  area.  In  X'irginia  the  mountain  area  is  about  one- 
half,  in  Tennessee  three-sc\enths,  in  Kentucky  one-third,  in  Alabama  one-fourth, 
in  Maryland  one-fourth,  in  North  Carolina  one-fifth,  and  in  Georgia  one-seventh 
of  the  total  state  area. 

It  may  be  questioned  whether  the  state  of  West  Virginia  should  be  regarded  in 
its  entirety  as  a  mountain  state,  it  is  to  be  remembered,  however,  that  the  char- 
acteristics which  differentiated  it  from  the  "Old  Dominion"  and  which  led  to  its 
separation  from  it,  were  the  outgrowth  of  its  topography.  The  Valley  of  X'irginia, 
although  kept  distinct  for  a  while  from  the  eastern  part  of  the  state  by  the  narrow 
barrier  of  the  Blue  Ridge,  was  finally  assimilated.  The  western  part  of  N'irginia, 
because  of  its  mountain  character,  remained  unassimilated,  and  as  a  result  the  state 
of  West  Virginia,  formed  from  it,  differs  from  the  mother  state  in  its  political,  social, 
and  economic  life.     (See  .Appendix  A.) 

19 


THE  SOUTHERN  HIGHLANDER 

fruits  of  political  power  have  naturally  been  most  in  evidence  in  the 
constituencies  that  have  the  most  votes.  There  are  still  echoes  of 
old  political  struggles  for  full  representation  of  "east"  or  "west" — 
whichever  of  these  localities  may  indicate  the  mountain  portion  of 
the  state — even  where  one  party  dominates  both  sections.  These 
political  influences  are  easily  exaggerated,  but  they  are  to  be  con- 
sidered in  a  summary  of  causes  affecting  mountain  life. 

Another  influence  tending  to  diminish  the  natural  pride  in  his 
section  felt  by  the  mountain  dweller,  has  been  exerted  uncon- 
sciously by  travelers  from  urban  centers  in  the  South,  or  from 
Northern  states  where  urban  life  has  been  a  prevailing  influence. 
By  accounts  of  the  simplicity  of  life  in  the  Highlands,  picturesque 
without  qualification,  they  have  unwittingly  aroused  the  antago- 
nism of  the  people  living  there  by  causing  them  to  feel  that  they 
have  been  caricatured.  It  were  well  for  those  from  states  domi- 
nated by  urban  influences,  abounding  in  wealth  and  unhandicapped 
by  great  regional  diversities,  to  reflect  that  even  within  their  own 
borders  are  large  rural  areas  not  different  from  the  mountains  in  the 
absence  of  many  of  the  so-called  advantages  of  city  life.  The  folk 
dwelling  within  our  Highland  country  are  naturally  hospitable,  and 
there  is  a  sense  of  injury  that  grows  into  resentment  when  former 
guests  in  their  homes,  who  need  not  have  come  unless  they  had 
wished,  make  sweeping  statements  that  do  them  and  their  people 
gross  injustice. 

There  is  another  great  source  of  irritation.  In  earlier  days,  when 
public  funds  were  less  available  for  education  in  the  mountains, 
both  Northern  and  Southern  church  boards  established  mission 
schools  in  communities  not  adequately  supplied  with  public  schools. 
Despite  all  the  high  endeavor  that  the  word  "missions"  conveys  to 
us  individually,  no  one  of  us  cares  to  be  regarded,  even  by  implica- 
tion, as  a  worthy  object  of  betterment,  uplift,  or  missionary  effort. 

It  has  come  about,  therefore,  that  the  term  "Southern  Moun- 
taineers" has  been  made  to  suggest  a  peculiar  people,  with  peculiar 
needs.  The  South  as  a  whole  has  shown  the  natural  reaction  toward 
any  seeming  suggestion  of  peculiarity  on  the  part  of  any  of  its 
people,  though  at  times  it  would  appear  to  admit  the  same  implica- 
tion by  its  use  of  the  term  "Hill-Billy."  It  is  as  if  two  brothers 
reserved  to  themselves  the  right  to  call  each  other  what  they  would 

20 


THE  HIGHLANDS  AND  HIGHLANDER  DEFINED 

and  when  they  would,  but  united  in  resistance  against  an  outsider 
who  offered  affront  to  a  member  of  the  family. 

The  South  holds  no  monopoly  of  this  sensitiveness.  A  former 
classmate  of  the  writer,  who  twenty  years  ago  described  conditions 
as  he  viewed  them  in  a  northern  highland  area,  aroused  the  ire  of 
the  whole  region,  urban  as  well  as  rural,  though  writing  of  only  a 
limited  part.  Even  today,  though  remedial  measures  bear  witness 
to  the  truth  of  some  of  his  statements,  his  name  is  uttered  occa- 
sionally in  country  life  conferences  with  a  degree  of  feeling  too 
heated  to  be  mistaken  for  affection. 

Perhaps  enough  has  been  said  to  suggest  our  difficulty  in  telling 
who  the  Southern  Highlanders  really  are.  The  reader  will,  how- 
ever, allow  the  use  of  the  term  in  these  pages  to  cover  the  popula- 
tion within  the  region  described.  We  cannot  conceal  our  hope  of  its 
ultimate  adoption.  The  people  living  within  the  boundaries  of  the 
Southern  Highlands  have  too  much  that  is  worthy  of  conservation, 
both  in  the  past  and  in  the  present,  to  allow  themselves  to  ignore 
their  solidarity  or  to  apologize  for  it. 


21 


CHAPTER  III 

PIONEER  ROUTES  OF  TRAVEL  AND  EARLY 

SETTLEMENTS 

THE  broad  expanse  of  level  country  that  stretches  westward 
from  the  South-Atlantic  seaboard  reaches  in  the  Carolinas 
a  width  of  one  hundred  to  one  hundred  and  fifty  miles.  As 
one  moves  up  the  leisurely  watercourses  the  land  becomes  more 
rolling,  a  hill  country  begins  to  appear,  and  the  rivers  issuing  from 
it  descend  in  steep  cascades  and  rapids  to  the  plain  below. 

One  has,  according  to  the  geographers,  crossed  the  Coastal 
Plain,  which  first  appears  south  of  New  York  harbor  as  a  narrow 
strip  bordering  the  sea,  and  extends  southward  in  an  ever-widening 
zone.  The  cascades  mark  that  famous  "fall  line"  where  rivers  fall 
from  the  Piedmont  Plateau  to  the  low-lying  lands  of  the  coast. 
Here  in  early  days  were  established  the  first  trading  posts,  and  here 
later  grew  flourishing  cities. 

Further  separating  the  Coastal  Plain  from  the  Carolina  Pied- 
mont extends  a  broad  strip  of  piney  barrens.  Beyond  these  barrens, 
as  one  continues  westward,  the  Plateau  becomes  more  rugged,  the 
rivers  divide  and  fork  into  innumerable  branches  and  rivulets  which 
cut  their  way  through  a  stiff  red  soil.  The  forests  change  in  char- 
acter, the  air  grows  cooler,  until  at  length  against  the  horizon  there 
lifts  a  misty  blue  line.  Nearer,  it  resolves  itself  into  a  lofty  range 
of  peaks,  still  hung  with  blue  haze,  and  fronting  the  southeast  with 
precipitous  rocky  cliffs. 

Here  at  last  is  the  Blue  Ridge.  At  its  foot  the  early  hunter, 
eager  to  add  to  his  string  of  pelts,  paused,  fearful  of  hidden  foes 
beyond  the  ridges.  Here,  too,  the  cattle-driver,  following  in  his 
steps,  stopped  to  raise  his  rough  shelter  in  the  wilderness.  And 
here,  still  later,  the  pioneer  settler,  gazing  up  at  the  formidable 
barrier,  halted  his  pack-horse  or  wagon  and  built  his  cabin  by  the 
side  of  a  rushing  stream. 

22 


PIONEER  ROUTES  OF  TRAVEL  AND  EARLY  SETTLEMENTS 

The  traveler  today,  weary  from  his  long  train  ride,  looks  out  at 
the  railway  winding  serpent-like  up  the  face  of  the  mountain  and 
no  longer  wonders  why  westward  expansion  from  the  South  Atlan- 
tic seacoast  was  so  slow.  He  wonders  rather  that  the  first  advance 
to  the  Far  West  was  begun  across  this  mountain  country  at  a  time 
when  the  settlers  of  New  York  State  had  scarce  ventured  beyond 
the  Valleys  of  the  Hudson  and  the  Mohawk,  and  when  Maine  and 
Vermont  formed  one  frontier  of  a  New  England  which  was  just 
beginning  to  cross  the  Berkshire  barrier. 

History  has  concerned  itself  but  little  with  our  Southern  High- 
lands, except  in  incidental  fashion  as  it  has  dealt  with  movements, 
early  and  later,  across  the  mountain  barrier  to  the  west,  and  with 
settlements  within  the  mountains,  notably  in  the  Valley  of  Virginia 
and  in  the  Holston  region,  which  marked  or  contributed  to  these 
western  movements.  From  these  movements  and  settlements, 
however,  came  the  early  population  of  the  Highlands,  and  a  brief 
review  of  them  and  their  sources  is  an  integral  part  of  any  study 
of  the  region. 

For  an  explanation  of  the  first  large  movement  into  the  moun- 
tain country,  we  must  turn  from  the  South  to  Pennsylvania. 
Hither,  between  1720  and  1770  approximately,  came  many  thou- 
sand Germans  from  the  Palatinate,  Ulster  Scotch  or  Scotch-Irish^ 
from  the  north  of  Ireland,  and  immigrants  from  other  countries. 
It  is  not  necessary  here  to  enter  into  the  causes,  political,  religious, 
and  economic,  that  led  to  their  migrations.  They  were  on  .the 
whole  a  sturdy,  virile  people,  fitted  by  nature  and  experience  to 
meet  the  hardships  of  pioneer  life. 

There  were  few  good  Atlantic  ports  in  the  South;  New  England 
did  not  welcome  the  strangers;^  and  although  many  went  to  New 
York,  by  far  the  greatest  number  were  directed  to  the  great  central 

^  "From  the  year  1720  to  1776  this  people  came  on  the  average  of  12,000  a  year, 
or  600,000  people  before  the  Revolution." — Scotch-Irish  Society  of  America,  Vol. 
Ill,  p.  132.  Proceedings  of  the  ist-8th  Congress,  18S9-1896.  Cincinnati,  R.  Clarke 
&  Co.,  8  vols. 

Kuhns  estimates  that  the  grand  total  of  German  immigration  was  probably 
1 10,000. —  Kuhns,  Arthur:  The  German  and  Swiss  Settlements  of  Colonial  Pennsyl- 
vania, New  York,  1901. 

2  "The  explanation  of  the  antipathy  excited  by  the  Scotch-Irish  immigration 
lies  not  in  the  character  of  the  arrivals,  but  in  the  character  of  the  economic  system 
of  the  community."— Ford,  Henry  Jones:  The  Scotch-Irish  in  .America,  Ch.  VTl,  p. 
224.     Princeton  University  Press,  1913. 

23 


THE  SOUTHERN  HIGHLANDER 

port  of  Philadelphia.^  The  lands  lying  near  the  coast  of  Pennsyl- 
vania were  by  this  time  comparatively  well  settled,  and  it  seems  to 
be  due  largely  to  this  fact  and  to  the  abundance  of  cheap  territory 
farther  west,  that  the  newcomers  pressed  on  to  the  frontier.  The 
movement  was,  however,  undoubtedly  encouraged  by  the  colonial 
authorities,  as  thereby  a  barrier  was  established  between  the  sea- 
board settlements  and  the  Indians. 

The  Blue  Ridge,  it  will  be  recalled,  which  was  so  formidable  an 
obstacle  to  early  westward  expansion  from  the  southern  coast,  is 
lost  for  an  interval  in  Pennsylvania,  and  a  natural  entrance  is  thus 
afforded  into  the  part  of  the  Greater  Appalachian  Valley  which  lies 
in  that  state.  Following  along  the  lower  courses  of  the  Delaware 
and  Susquehanna,  and  ascending  their  tributaries,  the  early  im- 
migrants pre-empted  the  better  lands  and  entered  the  Greater 
Valley.  They  formed,  in  Pennsylvania,  a  great  reservoir  of  popula- 
tion, fed  by  transatlantic  immigration  passing  through  the  port  of 
Philadelphia. 

That  this  reservoir,  overflowing,  should  send  its  first  great 
stream  into  the  Southern  Highlands  was  determined  by  natural 
causes.  Extending  to  the  southward,  the  Greater  Appalachian 
Valley  with  its  fertile  limestone  soil  lay  like  a  great  pathway  walled 
between  highlands  to  east  and  west.  Pushing  on  along  this  path- 
way through  Maryland  and  what  is  now  West  Virginia,  the  pioneer 
entered  the  Valley  of  Virginia,  out  of  which  flow  the  waters  of  the 
Shenandoah  to  join  those  of  the  Potomac.  Continuing  southward  up 
the  Valley,  he  was  moving  up  to  the  headwaters  of  the  Shenandoah. 

An  examination  of  the  river  systems  will  aid  in  an  understanding 
of  his  further  movements.  Interlocking  with  the  headwaters  of  the 
Shenandoah  are  those  of  the  James,  and  just  beyond  lie  those  of  the 
Roanoke — rivers  which  both  flow  diagonally  southeast  across  the 
Valley,  out  through  the  Blue  Ridge  to  the  Piedmont  Plateau,  and 
thence  to  the  Atlantic.  Still  beyond,  to  the  southwest,  and  seeming 
to  terminate  the  Valley,  ridges  over  3,000  feet  in  height  separate 
the  waters  of  the  Roanoke  from  those  of  the  New  River  flowing 
northwest  to  the  Ohio. 

1  "  Emigrants  usually  landed  either  at  Lewes  or  at  Newcastle  in  Delaware,  or  in 
Philadelphia."— Hanna,  Charles  A.:  The  Scotch-Irish,  Vol.  11,  p.  60.  G.  P.  Put- 
nam's Sons,  1902. 

24 


PIONEER  ROUTES  OF  TRAVEL  AND  EARLY  SETTLEMENTS 

The  southward  movement  of  migration  did  not  at  first  swell  over 
this  divide  and  continue  across  New  River  down  the  Greater  Val- 
ley into  Tennessee,  but  as  though  it  were  a  veritable  stream,  it 
was  deflected  through  the  Blue  Ridge  to  the  southeast,  to  pour  over 
the  lower  lying  lands  of  the  Carolina  Piedmont.  It  is  to  be  kept  in 
mind  that  this  movement  from  Pennsylvania  to  the  Carolina  Pied- 
mont commonly  involved  two  or  three  generations  of  pioneers, 
each  new  generation  moving  on  a  journey  farther  into  the  wilder- 
ness. So  rapid  was  the  movement,  however,  that  the  Virginia 
Valley,  which  in  1730  had  few  inhabitants,  by  1750  was  well  popu- 
lated; and  Mathew  Rowan,  who  in  1746  estimated  that  in  Anson, 
Orange,  and  Rowan  Counties,  which  at  that  time  composed  the 
entire  section  between  Virginia  and  South  Carolina,  "there  was 
not  then  one  hundred  fighting  men,"  in  1753  wrote,  "there  is  now 
at  least  3 ,000,  for  the  most  part  1  rish  Protestants  and  Germans,  and 
dayley  increasing."^  In  1765  alone,  over  a  thousand  immigrant 
wagons  are  reported  by  Governor  Tryon  to  have  passed  through 
Salisbury,  North  Carolina. 

The  "Great  Road  from  the  Yadkin  River  through  Virginia  to 
Philadelphia,  distant  435  miles,"  as  indicated  on  Jeffrey's  map,^  or, 
to  follow  it  from  north  to  south,  from  Philadelphia  to  the  Yadkin, 
ran  through  Lancaster  and  York,  Pennsylvania,  to  Winchester, 
Virginia,  up  the  Shenandoah  Valley,  across  the  upper  waters  of  the 
James  to  the  Roanoke  River,  thence  down  the  Roanoke  through 
the  Blue  Ridge  southward,  crossing  the  Dan  River,  and  still 
farther  southward  to  the  headwaters  of  the  Yadkin  in  what  is  now 
Forsyth  County,  North  Carolina. 

To  the  southeast  of  the  Blue  Ridge  barrier,  therefore,  grew  a  sec- 
ond reservoir  of  population,  fed  not  only  from  the  north  but  from 
the  south  by  later  and  lesser  streams  of  transatlantic  migration 
through  the  ports  of  Charleston  and  Wilmington. 

There  had  been  early  a  seepage  of  settlers  into  western  and  south- 
western Pennsylvania  from  the  great  reservoir  in  the  Valley  of 
Pennsylvania.  In  1750  those  who  had  established  themselves  on 
the  upper  waters  of  the  Monongahela  had  to  be  warned  back  by  the 

1  North  Carolina  Colonial  Records,  Vol.  V,  pp.   17-18.     Mathew  Rowan  was 
President  and  Commander-in-Chief  of  the  Province  of  North  Carolina,  i753-'754- 
-  A  map  printed  many  times,  first  about  1760  and  last  about  1790. 

25 


THE  SOUTHERN  HIGHLANDER 

colonial  authorities,  as  their  presence  was  a  provocation  to  the 
Indians,  always  hostile  in  this  region.  After  the  establishment  of 
Fort  Pitt  in  1759,  and  the  laying  out  of  Pittsburgh  in  1765,  the 
western  movement  to  this  region  began  again,  to  be  largely  aug- 
mented, in  the  southwestern  counties  especially,  by  streams  of 
settlers  from  Maryland  and  Virginia.  Thus  by  the  time  of  the 
Revolution,  to  the  northwest  of  our  territory  was  formed  a  third 
reservoir  of  population  perhaps  best  visualized  in  Pittsburgh,  which 
was  to  influence  greatly  the  settlement  of  Kentucky  and  that  part 
of  Virginia  now  known  as  West  Virginia. 

While  these  three  reservoirs  were  forming,  two  to  the  north  and 
one  to  the  southeast  of  the  mountain  country,  the  Highlands  south 
of  Virginia  remained  an  almost  unbroken  wilderness.  In  the  region 
lying  west  of  the  Blue  Ridge  and  extending  to  the  Tennessee  and 
Ohio  Rivers,  even  Indian  settlements  of  any  size  seem  to  have 
been  infrequent.  The  country  was  claimed  for  the  most  part  by 
the  Cherokee  Nation,  but  it  was  used  as  a  hunting-ground  by 
other  tribes  as  well.  The  war-path  of  both  northern  and  southern 
Indians  ran  the  entire  length  of  the  Greater  Valley,  branching 
through  Cumberland  Gap  into  Kentucky  to  the  Ohio,  and  formed 
the  main  artery  for  an  intricate  network  of  trails  which  crossed  and 
recrossed  the  mountain  country. 

Into  this  wilderness  hunters  and  traders  had  early  penetrated. 
Imagination  pictures  for  us  these  first  daring  men  who  threaded 
the  narrow  forest  trails  and  matched  their  skill  against  Indian 
cunning;  but  few  are  the  records  of  these  woodsmen,  forerunners 
of  the  pioneer  settlers. 

It  is  impossible  to  trace  with  any  defmiteness  the  early  white 
settlements  in  this  Indian  territory.  On  Mitchell's  map,  pub- 
lished in  1755,  a  number  are  indicated,  "Walker's"^  in  the  neigh- 
borhood of  Cumberland  Gap  being  shown  as  the  most  western  point 
of  English  occupation  in  1750.    A  trail  is  also  indicated  across  the 

1  "Dr.  Thomas  Walker,  who  lived  at  Castle  Hill,  Albemarle  County,  Virginia, 
penetrated  these  wilds  in  1750.  He  went  by  Staunton  and  up  the  Valley,  crossing 
the  Alleghany  on  the  watershed  at  the  present  site  of  Blackberry,  crossed  New  River 
at  Horseshoe,  went  down  the  river  to  the  mouth  of  Walker's  Creek,  and  up  the 
creek  along  the  face  of  Walker's  Mountain  to  the  headwaters  of  the  Clinch  River. 
Passing  down  the  Clinch  he  made  his  way  to  the  Gap  to  which  he  gave  the  name  of 
Cumberland."— Speed,  Thomas:  The  Wilderness  Road,  p.  14.  Louisville,  Ky., 
John  P.  Morton  &  Co..  i886. 

26 


PIONEER  ROUTES  OF  TRAVEL  AND  EARLY  SETTLEMENTS 

divide  in  southwestern  Virginia,  and  the  region  about  the  head- 
waters of  the  Holston  is  marked  "  Settled. "^  While  it  is  probable 
that  this  outpost  was  destroyed,  as  were  most  of  those  in  Indian 
territory  indicated  by  Mitchell,  there  appear  to  have  been  perma- 
nent settlers  in  the  Holston  region  before  1760. 

From  the  early  part  of  the  eighteenth  century  a  series  of  treaties 
had  been  made  with  the  Indians,  whereby  their  boundaries  were 
pushed  farther  and  farther  west.  The  new  lines  established,  how- 
ever, did  not  prevent  the  encroachments  of  the  white  men,  who 
continued  to  raise  their  cabins  beyond  the  limits  defined  by  the 
latest  treaty,  while  a  fast  growing  number  of  traders  and  hunters 
penetrated  deeper  into  the  wilderness.  Suspicious  and  alarmed, 
the  Indians  were  further  aroused  by  the  instigations  of  the  French, 
to  whose  colonial  aspirations  the  westward  advance  of  the  English 
was  a  constant  menace.  The  Treaty  of  Paris  in  1763  put  an  end 
to  French  pretensions  east  of  the  Mississippi;  and  King  George,  to 
placate  the  Indians,  decreed  by  royal  proclamation  that  there  should 
be  no  white  settlement  beyond  the  sources  of  streams  flowing  into 
the  Atlantic.  That  this  decree  was  impossible  to  enforce  was  appar- 
ent from  the  first,  and  it  was  generally  disregarded.-  Not  only  had 
lands  already  been  granted  and  purchases  made  in  good  faith  to  the 
west  of  this  boundary,  but  new  settlers  were  not  to  be  restrained 
from  entering  in  ever  increasing  numbers  the  forbidden  territory. 

Out  from  among  the  shadowy  figures  of  this  period,  whose  deeds 
and  even  whose  names  were  lost  in  the  dark  forest,  emerges  about 
this  time  a  youth  destined  to  descend  to  succeeding  generations  as 
the  great  pioneer  of  American  history.  Daniel  Boone  was  born 
near  Reading,  Pennsylvania,  in  1734,  but  in  1750  his  family  left 
for  North  Carolina,  following  the  old  route  up  the  Valley  of  Vir- 
ginia, across  the  Blue  Ridge  near  the  dividing  line  between  Vir- 

1  This  settlement  may  perhaps  be  that  made  by  the  Inglis  and  Draper  families 
somewhere  about  1750  near  the  present  Blackberry,  Virginia,  which  was  raided  in 
'755  by  the  Shawnee  Indians.  Blackberry,  howe\er,  lies  at  the  headwaters  of  the 
Roanoke,  and  the  Roanoke  and  Holston  systems  are  clearly  distinguished  on  Mit- 
chell's map  despite  its  poor  perspective. 

*  An  attempt  was  made  to  adjust  matters  by  a  number  of  new  treaties,  of  which 
that  at  Stanwix,  New  York,  in  1768,  with  the  Iroquois,  and  of  Lochaber,  South 
Carolina,  with  the  Cherokees,  in  1770,  were  the  most  important.  By  these  various 
treaties  most  of  West  Virginia,  Kentucky,  and  much  of  North  Carolina  and  eastern 
Tennessee  were  ceded  to  the  English. 

4  27 


THE  SOUTHERN  HIGHLANDER 

ginia  and  North  Carolina,  and  on  to  the  forks  of  the  Yadkin  in  the 
Carohna  Piedmont.  A  mighty  hunter  even  in  those  days  of 
mighty  hunters,  young  Boone  was  fired  by  the  tales  of  a  returned 
trader^  to  make  a  trip  of  exploration  into  Kentucky — the  first  of  a 
number  of  expeditions  which  were  to  result  in  the  laying  out  of  the 
Wilderness  Road  and  the  opening  of  that  western  land  beyond  the 
mountains. 2  There  is  a  tradition,  questioned  by  some,  that  in  the 
spring  of  1769  Boone  and  James  Robertson  stood  on  a  mountain 
path  and  looked  down  upon  the  beautiful  Valley  of  the  Watauga. 
It  was  in  this  region  in  this  same  year  that  William  Bean,  from 
Virginia,  settled  in  what  is  now  known  as  the  Valley  of  East  Ten- 
nessee, but  was  then  supposed  to  be  Virginia,  later  found  to  belong 
to  North  Carolina,  and  for  a  while  was  embraced  within  the  terri- 
tory known  as  the  state  of  Franklin.  This  was  the  first  permanent 
settlement  of  which  we  have  authentic  record  within  the  present 
state  of  Tennessee. 

At  first  this  settlement  seems  to  have  been  but  an  extension  of 
that  mentioned  previously  as  existing  before  1760  in  Virginia  at 
the  headwaters  of  the  Holston,  but  it  was  soon  increased  by  acces- 
sions of  other  settlers.  In  1771  came  James  Robertson  with  sixteen 
families  from  North  Carolina;  and  in  1772  followed  Sevier,  later 
to  be  the  first  governor  of  the  state  of  Tennessee.  Within  a  few 
years  of  Bean's  coming  there  were  a  number  of  hunters,  herders, 
and  small  farmers  with  their  families  in  the  valleys  of  the  Watauga, 
Nolichucky,  Holston,  and  Clinch.  Just  how  many  came  directly 
from  Virginia,  and  how  many  from  North  Carolina,  and  when 
they  came,  is  impossible  to  say,  but  after  the  defeat  of  the  Regula- 
tors^  in  the  Battle  of  Alamance,  1771,  their  numbers  were  largely 
increased  by  migrations  from  the  Piedmont  counties  of  North 

*  Probably  John  Finley,  or  Findlay,  a  Scotch-Irish  trader  with  whom  Boone  is 
supposed  to  have  first  made  acquaintance  during  Braddock's  campaign.  Finley 
had  been  through  Ouasioto,  or  Cumberland  Gap  about  1752,  and  recounted  to 
Boone  in  glowing  terms  his  memories  of  the  immense  herds  of  buffaloes  he  had  seen 
in  Kentuciiy,  the  abundance  of  bears,  deer,  and  elk,  the  great  salt  licks  where  they 
gathered,  and  the  innumerable  flocks  of  wild  turkeys,  geese,  and  ducks.  See  Hen- 
derson, Archibald;  The  Conquest  of  the  Old  Southwest,  Ch.  X.  New  York, 
Century,  1920. 

^  See  Appendix  C. 

^  A  body  of  associates  in  western  Carolina,  formed  to  preserve  order  on  the 
frontier,  and  to  resist  the  collection  of  excessive  and  fraudulent  taxes.  For  fuller 
information  see  Ch.  Vi,  p.  91. 

28 


PIONEER  ROUTES  OF  TRAVEL  AND  EARLY  SETTLEMENTS 

Carolina.    In  1772  these  scattered  settlements  were  formed  into  an 
association  known  as  the  Watauga  Association.^ 

Writing  of  this  association  in  his  Winning  of  the  West,  Theodore 
Roosevelt  says: 

It  is  this  fact  of  the  early  independence  and  self-government 
of  the  settlers  along  the  headwaters  of  the  Tennessee,  that  gives 
to  their  history  its  peculiar  importance.  They  were  the  first 
men  of  American  birth  to  establish  a  free  and  independent  com- 
munity on  the  continent.  Even  before  this  date  there  had  been 
straggling  settlements  of  Pennsylvanians  and  Virginians  along 
the  headwaters  of  the  Ohio;  but  these  settlements  remained 
mere  parts  of  the  colonies  behind  them,  and  neither  grew  into  a 
separate  community,  nor  played  a  distinctive  part  in  the  growth 
of  the  west.2 

The  next  few  years  witnessed  a  great  influx  of  hunters  and  ex- 
plorers into  Kentucky,  despite  the  continued  and  fierce  opposition 
of  the  Indians.  Boone,  in  1773,  leading  a  party  of  six  families 
which  included  the  first  white  women  and  children  to  enter  Ken- 
tucky, endeavored  to  make  a  settlement,  but  was  attacked  and 
forced  to  turn  back.  His  eldest  son  and  five  others  of  the  party 
were  killed. 

'  There  was  great  disappointment  among  the  settlers  in  the  Watauga  region  when 
it  was  found  that  they  were  on  North  Carolina  instead  of  Virginia  soil.  Under 
Virginia  they  could  have  expected  some  protection  from  the  Indians,  but  the  govern- 
ment of  North  Carolina  east  of  the  mountains  was  too  unsettled  to  afford  help  to 
any  settlers  to  the  west.  The  formation  of  the  Watauga  Association  secured  for 
six  years  not  only  a  peaceful  administration  of  local  affairs,  but  a  certain  measure  of 
preparedness  against  Indian  attack.  When  the  association  came  to  an  end  through 
the  creation  by  North  Carolina  of  Washington  County,  now  Tennessee,  the  general 
system  of  government  continued  to  work  successfully  for  some  years  longer.  When, 
however.  North  Carolina  ceded  her  lands  lying  "west  of  the  mountains  and  extend- 
ing to  the  Mississippi"  to  the  Federal  Government,  giving  the  Government  two 
years  in  which  to  accept,  not  only  was  great  doubt  felt  in  the  Holston  region  as  to 
the  Government  accepting  the  territory,  but  the  settlers  felt  that  while  the  matter 
was  pending  they  would  be  left  unprotected.  North  Carolina,  also,  had  not  acceded 
to  demands  which  the  association  felt  to  be  just.  The  Wataugans  therefore  set  up 
an  independent  state  which  they  called  Franklin,  adopted  a  constitution,  and  car- 
ried on  their  own  negotiations  with  the  Indians.  So  scarce  was  money  in  this  new 
state  that  the  following  according  to  Haywood  (History  of  Tennessee,  p.  150)  were 
recognized  as  currency:  "Good  llax  linen  ten  hundred,  at  three  shillings  and  six 
pence  per  yard;  good  clean  beaver  skins,  six  shillings  each;  raccoon  and  fox  skins, 
at  one  shilling  and  three  pence;  deer  skins,  six  shillings;  bacon  at  six  pence  per  lb; 
tallow  at  six  pence;  good  whiskey  at  two  shillings  and  six  pence  a  gallon."  Lack 
of  recognition  by  the  Federal  Government,  internal  dissension,  and  poverty,  led, 
in  two  years,  to  collapse. 

2  Roosevelt:  Winning  of  the  West,  Vol.  I,  p.  231. 

29 


THE  SOUTHERN  HIGHLANDER 

The  defeat  of  the  Indians  north  of  the  Ohio,  at  the  close,  in 
1774,  of  Lord  Dunmore's  War,  secured  the  outposts  a  brief  respite 
from  Indian  attack,  and  with  the  cession  of  lands  in  Kentucky 
opened  the  way  for  the  establishment  of  permanent  transmontane 
settlements.  In  1775  Boone  was  employed  by  "a.  number  of  North 
Carolina  gentlemen"^  to  lay  out  the  Wilderness  Road,  which 
offered  a  direct  route  from  the  Watauga  Settlement  to  Cumberland 
Gap,  and  thence  to  the  fertile  limestone  lands  of  Kentucky.  In 
that  same  year  were  laid  the  foundations  of  Boonesborough  and 
Harrodsburg. 

A  review  of  the  population  of  the  Southern  Highlands  on  the  eve 
of  the  Revolution  shows  the  Valley  of  Virginia  northeast  of  the 
divide  well  populated;  scattered  clearings  follow  the  valleys  on  the 
upper  courses  of  the  Greenbrier  and  Kanawha  Rivers  in  what  is 
now  West  Virginia,  and  mark  the  vicinity  of  Fort  Henry,  later  the 
city  of  Wheeling;  and  in  the  Valley  in  southwestern  Virginia  and 
northeastern  Tennessee  are  planted  a  sturdy  group  of  federated 
settlements  coming  to  be  known  as  the  Holston  Settlements.  Be- 
yond the  Highlands  to  the  west,  and  separated  even  from  Watauga 
by  over  two  hundred  miles  of  wilderness,  are  the  feeble  beginnings 
of  the  state  of  Kentucky.  They  all  marked,  as  it  were,  the  first 
rivulets  from  the  reservoirs  banked  to  northwest  and  southeast, 
which  after  the  Revolution  were  to  overflow  through  the  High- 
lands to  that  great  western  country  as  yet  scarcely  discovered. 

The  years  of  the  Revolution  were  strenuous  ones  on  the  frontier. 
The  Indians,  whose  services  were  enlisted  by  the  British,  continued 
to  harass  the  whole  border,  and  the  settlers,  shut  away  by  long 
miles  of  ridges,  could  expect  little  help  from  east  of  the  mountains 
where  all  were  engaged  in  the  struggle  for  independence.  On  them 
alone,  therefore,  fell  the  defense  of  the  montane  and  transmontane 
settlements. 

One  is  tempted  to  dwell  upon  the  many  thrilling  tales,  half- 
legendary,  that  have  come  down  to  us  of  these  pioneer  leaders — 

^  These  gentlemen  were  Colonel  Richard  Henderson  and  eight  others,  who,  by  a 
treaty  with  the  Cherokees  in  1775,  had  obtained  title  to  all  the  land  lying  between 
the  Kentucky  and  Cumberland  Rivers,  some  seventeen  million  acres.  The  "  Pro- 
prietors of  the  Colony  of  Transylvania,"  as  they  called  themselves,  were  not  allowed 
by  the  Virginia  legislature  to  hold  this  immense  territory,  but  Henderson,  in  con- 
sideration of  his  services,  was  granted  200,000  acres  on  the  Ohio. 

30 


PIONEER  ROUTES  OF  TRAVEL  AND  EARLY  SETTLEMENTS 

Sevier,  Robertson,  Clark,  Shelby,  Campbell,  and  many  others 
whose  names  are  inseparably  associated  with  the  history  of  this 
period — but  it  is  perhaps  enough  to  say  that  under  their  able 
guidance  not  only  was  the  foothold  already  obtained  in  the  west 
strengthened  during  the  war,  but  new  steps  were  taken  forward 
into  the  wilderness.  Slowly  settlement  crept  down  the  valleys  of 
the  Nolichucky,^  Holston,  and  Clinch;  and  in  1779  Robertson  set 
out  from  Watauga  for  the  Cumberland  country  to  make  the  begin- 
nings of  what  is  now  Nashville.  Nor  must  we  leave  this  period 
without  turning  to  view  again  those  stalwart  frontier  fighters,  who 
in  1780,  the  darkest  year  for  American  independence,  went  out  by 
forest  trail  and  gap  to  dislodge  the  British  from  King's  Mountain 
and  stem  the  tide  of  war.^  "  Rearguard  of  the  Revolution,"  they 
have  been  called,  and  America  owes  to  them  the  opening  and  pos- 
session of  the  great  West. 

Movement  through  the  mountains  had  continued  even  during 
the  Revolution,  but  at  its  close  the  western  settlements  drew  to 
themselves  from  all  our  reservoirs  of  population;   they  drew  even 

^  "  In  1778-9  Jonesboro,  the  oldest  town  in  Tennessee,  and  county-seat  of  Wash- 
ington County,  was  laid  out,  and  court-house  and  jail  erected." — Rule,  William: 
History  of  Knoxville.     Chicago,  Lewis  Publishing  Co.,  1900. 

^  Major  Ferguson,  dispatched  by  Cornwallis  into  the  western  part  of  North 
Carolina  to  "subdue  the  back  counties,"  sent  word  to  the  Watauga  settlers  that  if 
"they  did  not  desist  from  their  opposition  to  the  British  Arms,  he  would  cross  the 
mountains,  hang  their  leaders,  and  lay  waste  the  country  with  fire  and  sword." 
In  characteristic  fashion  the  frontiersmen  determined  to  attack  Ferguson  at  once, 
before  he  could  move  upon  them.  At  Sycamore  Shoals  of  the  Watauga  River  they 
gathered,  over  :,200  men,  including  some  400  from  the  Virginia  frontier.  A  draft 
was  taken  to  provide  a  guard  for  the  home  settlements.  Then,  after  a  powerful 
sermon  by  the  famous  Presbyterian  pastor,  Dr.  Doak,  in  which  he  exhorted  them  to 
"go  forth  with  the  sword  of  the  Lord  and  of  Gideon,"  they  set  out  to  cross  the 
mountains.  All  were  armed  with  the  usual  rifle,  tomahawk,  and  hunting-knife, 
and  wore  sprigs  of  evergreen  in  their  coon-skin  caps;  nearly  all  were  well  mounted. 
Ferguson,  forewarned  of  their  approach,  discreetly  retired  from  Gilbert  Town  in 
Rutherford  County,  and  entrenched  himself  just  over  the  border  in  South  Carolina, 
on  King's  Mountain,  from  which  he  stoutly  asserted  that  neither  "God  Almighty 
nor  all  the  rebels  outside  hell,  could  dislodge  him."  The  frontiersmen,  under  Wil- 
liam Campbell,  John  Sevier,  and  Isaac  Shelby,  after  thirty  hours  in  the  saddle, 
drenched  by  rain,  and  with  inferior  numbers,  proceeded  at  once  to  storm  the  strong- 
hold. They  fought  with  a  combination  of  tactical  skill  and  Indian  cunning,  taking 
advantage  of  every  bit  of  cover.  The  battle  lasted  for  some  hours,  during  which, 
the  old  chronicler  tells  us  "the  whole  mountain  was  covered  with  smoke  and  seemed 
to  thunder";  but  at  last  Ferguson  was  killed  and  his  men  who  were  left  alive  sur- 
rendered. Not  more  than  a  month  later  part  of  this  same  band  of  frontiersmen 
fought  the  Indians  at  Boyd's  Creek,  Kentucky,  more  than  three  hundred  miles 
away  across  the  mountains. 

31 


THE  SOUTHERN  HIGHLANDER 

from  the  territory  north  of  Pennsylvania,  sweeping  in  their  stream 
some  from  the  frontiers  of  New  York  and  New  England. 

The  great  northwest  territory  of  Ohio,  Indiana,  Illinois,  and 
Michigan,  which  in  the  next  century  was  to  be  the  goal  of  desire, 
had  not  at  this  time  been  clearly  defined  by  treaty  boundaries  and 
was  occupied  by  hostile  tribes.  Northern  routes,  moreover,  were 
dangerous  of  travel,  and  not  made  safe  until  the  British,  by  Jay's 
Treaty  in  1795,  gave  over  the  Lake  Forts. 

For  many  years,  therefore,  the  tide  of  migration  to  the  west 
flowed  along  the  southern  routes.  The  Kentucky  country  was 
widely  known  for  its  fertility.  It  was  also  accessible,  and  its  gov- 
ernment was  early  organized  and  stable.  To  this  pioneer  land  of 
promise,  then,  migration  flowed  in  a  swollen  stream  after  the  Revo- 
lution. 

A  study  of  this  great  westward  migration  shows  it  moving  along 
two  main  lines  or  routes — one  the  famous  so-called  Wilderness 
Road,  a  large  part  of  whose  course  lay  within  our  Southern  High- 
lands, and  the  other  the  Ohio  River,  which  forms  part  of  the  north- 
west boundary  of  the  mountain  region. 

The  Wilderness  Road  was  the  first  route  to  the  west  to  be  ex- 
tensively used.  To  reach  it  from  the  north,  emigrants  followed  the 
old  route  up  the  Valley  of  Virginia;  but  instead  of  turning  south- 
east to  the  Piedmont,  they  crossed  the  divide  in  southwestern  Vir- 
ginia to  Fort  Chissell.  This  rude  block-house  and  outpost  in  the 
wilderness,  built  in  1758  by  Colonel  Bird  as  a  menace  to  the 
Cherokee  Indians,  was  situated  near  the  site  of  the  present  Wythe- 
ville,  on  the  headwaters  of  the  New  or  Kanawha  River,  which 
flows  northwest  across  the  Valley  through  West  Virginia  to  the 
Ohio.  Here  the  traveler  reached  the  borders  of  the  "great  Wilder- 
ness," that  dark  and  mysterious  forest  which  stretched  over  valley 
and  mountain  almost  two  hundred  miles  to  the  Cumberlands, 
whose  cliffs,  in  the  words  of  Boone,  were  "  so  wild  and  horrid  that 
it  is  impossible  to  view  them  without  terror."  Thence  it  was  about 
one  hundred  and  fifty  miles  to  the  young  transmontane  settle- 
ments. So  dense  was  this  forest  wilderness  that  travelers  are  said 
to  have  moved  in  a  leafy  gloom,  lightened  only  where  a  great  tree 
had  fallen  and  let  in  the  sky. 

Interlocking  with  the  headwaters  of  the  New  River,  those  of  the 

32 


PIONEER  ROUTES  OF  TRAVEL  AND  EARLY  SETTLEMENTS 

Holston  flow  south  until,  joining  the  CHnch,  whose  sources  lie  not 
far  to  the  west  of  its  own,  they  form  the  Tennessee.  The  course 
of  the  traveler  followed  down  the  Holston  Valley  to  the  region  of 
the  Holston  settlements,  the  first  outposts  in  the  wilderness,  and 
later,  receiving  stations  through  which  passed  the  great  migrations 
to  the  Far  West.  Here  was  a  block-house,  and  here  travelers  rested 
in  comparative  safety  before  facing  the  dangers  of  the  next  step 
in  the  wilderness. 

It  might  be  supposed  that  the  tide  would  have  continued  to  the 
junction  of  the  Clinch  and  Holston,^  and  so  on  down  the  Tennes- 
see.2  Later  travelers  wishing  to  reach  the  Cumberland  settlements 
about  Nashville  did  indeed  proceed  this  way  as  far  as  Fort  Camp- 
bell, situated  on  the  site  of  the  present  Kingston,  Tennessee.  They 
then  struck  up  the  plateau  through  Crab  Orchard,  and  across  and 
down  to  Nashville,  or  on  to  southwestern  Kentucky.  After  1783 
this  route  was  marked  by  a  well-defined  wagon  road.  Knoxville 
was  not  founded  and  named  until  1791,  although  a  fort  was  there 
in  1786  "on  the  extreme  border-land  of  the  Indian  country." 

But  the  greatest  number  of  travelers  turned  northward  from 
the  Holston  settlements,  across  the  Holston  River,  into  Virginia 
through  Moccasin  Gap,  across  the  Clinch,  over  a  spur  of  Powell's 
Mountain,  and  down  Powell's  Valley  to  Cumberland  Gap.^  This 
great  portal  to  the  west,  once  probably  a  river  gap,  was  situated 
at  the  point  where  the  boundaries  of  Virginia,  Tennessee,  and  Ken- 
tucky come  together,  and  to  it  converged  many  trails.  An  impor- 
tant contributing  route  from  North  Carolina  was  joined  at  the 
French  Broad  by  one  from  South  Carolina,  probably  just  about 
where  the  railroad  line  runs  today,  and  this  in  turn  was  joined  by 
another  route  which  led  from  Augusta,  Georgia.    From  Cumber- 

1  By  Act  of  the  Tennessee  legislature,  April  6,  1887,  the  Tennessee  River  now 
begins  at  the  junction  of  the  North  Fork  of  the  Holston  with  the  Holston  at  Kings- 
port,  Tennessee.  In  early  descriptions,  however,  the  river  was  known  as  the  Hol- 
ston to  the  point  where  it  united  with  the  Clinch  at  Kingston. 

2  This  route  was  pursued,  1779-1780,  by  most  of  Robertson's  party,  who  took 
boats  down  the  Tennessee,  and  up  the  Ohio  and  Cumberland— a  perilous  route  on 
account  of  the  hostility  of  the  Chickamaugas.  Generally,  however,  prior  to  178}, 
early  travelers  came  into  western  Tennessee  and  Kentucky  by  the  Wilderness 
Road,  through  Cumberland  Gap  as  far  as  Rockcastle  Hills,  then  turned  south  and 
followed  a  trace  which  led  to  the  Bluffs  on  Cumberland  Ri\  er,  afterward  Nashville. 
This  was  the  course  taken  by  Robertson  himself  in  1779. 

*  See  Appendix  C. 

33 


THE  SOUTHERN  HIGHLANDER 

land  Gap  the  Wilderness  Road  passed  northwest  to  the  Bluegrass 
region  of  Kentucky.^ 

Records  are  few  of  the  great  concourse  which  for  many  years 
passed  to  the  west  over  this  rough  trail.  Usually  the  travelers 
formed  companies  to  lessen  the  danger  of  Indian  attack,  and  axe 
and  rifle  were  always  ready.  Until  1795  the  road  was  but  a  trace, 
to  be  traveled  only  on  foot  or  horseback.  In  the  years  before  the 
road  was  open  to  wagons,  75,000  persons  at  least  are  estimated 
to  have  passed  over  it. 

Through  privations  incredible  and  perils  thick,  thousands  of 
men,  women,  and  children  came  in  successive  caravans,  forming 
continuous  streams  of  human  beings,  horses,  cattle,  and  other 
domestic  animals,  all  moving  onward  along  a  lonely  and  house- 
less path  to  a  wild  and  cheerless  land.  Cast  your  eyes  back  on 
that  long  procession  of  missionaries  in  the  cause  of  civilization; 
behold  the  men  on  foot  with  their  trusty  guns  on  their  shoulders, 
driving  stock  and  leading  pack-horses;  and  the  women,  some 
walking  with  pails  on  their  heads,  others  riding  with  children  in 
their  laps,  and  other  children  swung  in  baskets  on  horses  fast- 
ened to  the  tails  of  others  going  before;  see  them  encamped  at 
night  expecting  to  be  massacred  by  Indians;  behold  them  in  the 
month  of  December,  in  that  ever  memorable  season  of  unpre- 
cedented cold  called  the  "hard  winter,"  traveling  two  or  three 
miles  a  day,  frequently  in  danger  of  being  frozen  or  killed  by  the 
falling  of  horses  on  the  icy  and  almost  impassable  trace,  and  sub- 
sisting on  stinted  allowances  of  stale  bread  and  meat;  but  now 
lastly  look  at  them  at  the  destined  fort,  perhaps  on  the  eve  of 
merry  Christmas,  when  met  by  the  hearty  welcome  of  friends 
who  had  come  before,  and  cheered  by  fresh  buffalo  meat  and 
parched  corn,  they  rejoice  at  their  deliverance,  and  resolve  to  be 
contented  with  their  lot.^ 

The  Ohio  River  route  had  its  great  portal  at  Pittsburgh,  sit- 
uated where  the  Allegheny  and  Monongahela  unite  to  form  the 
Ohio.    Along  the  Allegheny  came  immigrants  from  Philadelphia; 

^  There  are  two  important  branches  of  the  road  in  Kentucky;  one  laid  out  by 
Boone  followed  a  buffalo  trace  to  Rockcastle  River,  and  thence  up  Roundstone 
Creek,  through  Boone's  Gap  in  Big  Hill,  through  the  present  county  of  Madison, 
down  Otter  Creek  to  its  mouth  at  Kentucky  River.  About  one  mile  below  the 
mouth  of  Otter  Creek,  Boone  established  his  fort  and  called  it  Boonesborough. 

The  other  branch,  laid  out  by  Logan  in  1775,  left  Boone's  at  Rockcastle  River 
and  bore  west  through  Crab  Orchard  to  the  falls  of  the  Ohio.  This  became  known 
especially  as  "the  road  leading  through  the  great  wilderness."— Speed,  Thomas: 
The  Wilderness  Road,  pp.  26-27.     Louisville,  Ky.,  John  P.  Morton  and  Co.,  1886. 

*  Chief  Justice  Robertson,  in  an  address  quoted  ibid.,  p.  41. 

34 


PIONEER  ROUTES  OF  TRAVEL  AND  EARLY  SETTLEMENTS 

while  those  from  Maryland  and  Virginia  followed  the  Monongahela. 
The  latter  often,  however,  cut  across  to  Wheeling,  ninety  miles  below 
Pittsburgh,  and  took  boat  there  or  followed  down  the  Greenbrier  to 
the  Kanawha  and  thence  to  the  Ohio.  In  any  case  they  were  carried 
in  "  keel-boats  and  Kentucky  fiat-boats  and  Indian  pirogues,"  gener- 
ally in  flotillas  down  the  Ohio  to  Limestone,  Kentucky,  at  the  site  of 
the  present  Maysville,  and  there  disembarking,  continued  across  the 
country  by  well-marked  roads.  Returning  travelers  almost  always 
came  overland  to  avoid  the  pull  against  the  current. 

This  route,  at  first  less  used  because  of  the  greater  danger  of 
Indian  attack  and  the  difficulty,  too,  and  expense  of  securing 
boats,  became  during  the  last  decade  of  the  century  so  important 
as  to  deflect  most  of  the  northern  migration  from  its  old  channel 
through  the  Highlands.  "Its  complete  downfall,"  says  Bruce, 
speaking  of  the  Wilderness  Road,  "may  be  said  to  have  been 
accomplished  with  the  building  of  the  celebrated  national  turn- 
pike, the  Cumberland  Road,  which  led  from  Baltimore  through 
Cumberland,  Maryland,  where  unhappy  Braddock  had  marshalled 
his  troops,  to  Wheeling,  in  West  Virginia,  being  ultimately  ex- 
tended into  Ohio."^  This  new  road,  which  greatly  shortened  and 
improved  the  old  Monongahela  route  to  the  Ohio,  was,  during  the 
second  quarter  of  the  nineteenth  century,  one  of  the  great  high- 
ways between  east  and  west.  A  description  given  by  Colonel 
Searight,  of  its  aspect  during  the  height  of  its  use,  forms  an  inter- 
esting contrast  to  the  account  quoted  above  of  the  stream  of  set- 
tlers passing  through  Cumberland  Gap: 

As  many  as  twenty  four-horse  coaches  have  been  counted  in  a 
line  at  one  time  on  the  road,  and  large  broad-wheeled  wagons, 
covered  with  white  canvas  stretched  over  bows,  laden  with 
merchandise  and  drawn  by  six  Conestoga  horses,  were  visible 
all  day  long  at  every  point,  and  many  times  until  late  in  the 
evening,  besides  innumerable  caravans  of  horses,  mules,  cattle, 
hogs,  and  sheep.  It  looked  more  like  the  leading  avenue  of  a 
great  city  than  a  road  through  rural  districts. - 

All  of  these  routes,  it  must  be  remembered,  while  undoubtedly 
affecting  the  growth  of  population  in  the  Southern  Highlands,  were 

1  Bruce,  H.  A.  B.:  Daniel  Boone  and  the  Wilderness  Road,  p.  298.  New  York, 
The  Macmillan  Company,  1910. 

2  Searight,  Thomas  B.:  The  Old  Pike,  p.  16.     Uniontown,  Pa.,  1894. 

35 


THE  SOUTHERN  HIGHLANDER 

not  directed  primarily  to  the  mountains,  but  through  them  to  the 
west.  Some  settlements  which  have  been  indicated,  already  ex- 
isted within  the  limits  of  our  territory,  and  these  continued  to  grow 
and  expand,  but  not  by  leaps  and  bounds  as  was  the  case  in  Ken- 
tucky.^  Indeed,  many  who  for  awhile  shared  the  fortunes  of  the 
mountain  settlers  joined  the  westward  tide,  and,  like  Robertson  of 
Watauga,  moved  on  to  found  new  cities  beyond  the  ridges. 

Early  settlements  within  the  Southern  Highlands  were  either  in 
parts  of  the  Greater  Appalachian  Valley,  or  in  the  larger  river 
valleys  of  the  upland  belts  to  the  east  and  west  of  it,  on  or  near 
what  were  to  become  important  routes  of  travel.  The  relation  of 
these  valleys  to  each  other,  and  to  the  river  systems,  suggests  the 
course  of  further  settlement  within  the  mountain  country. 

South  of  the  New  River  Divide  in  Virginia  the  drainage  of  the 
Southern  Highlands  is  into  the  Ohio  and  the  Gulf,  save  for  the 
steep  eastern  slopes  of  the  Blue  Ridge,  down  which  plunge  streams 
which  are  to  find  their  way  into  rivers  flowing  across  the  Piedmont 
Plateau  and  Coastal  Plain  into  the  Atlantic.  Thus  to  the  popula- 
tion massed  in  the  Carolina  Piedmont,  about  the  headwaters  of 
the  Yadkin,  the  Catawba,  and  other  eastward  flowing  streams,  and 
separated  by  wide  piney  barrens  from  the  coastal  settlements,  were 
offered  natural  routes  of  travel  up  to  the  sources  of  these  rivers, 
high  in  the  Blue  Ridge  Front,  and  thence  to  the  nearby  head- 
waters of  the  Nolichucky,  French  Broad,  and  other  waters  which 
flow  northwest  down  into  the  major  streams  of  the  Greater  Valley. 
The  main  routes  leading  from  the  Valley  across  the  Allegheny- 
Cumberland  Plateau  to  the  west  have  already  been  described. 

it  is  not  to  be  understood  that  the  pioneer  always  followed 
closely  the  bed  of  a  river,  though  the  use  of  water,  as  defined  by  a 
mountain  pupil  today,  "to  make  a  road,"  was  well  recognized  in 
frontier  times.     On  the  contrary,  the  Indian  and  buffalo  trails 

'  The  population  in  the  forks  of  the  Holston  in  1790  is  variously  estimated  from 
"thousands"  to  40,000. 

Roosevelt  (Winning  of  the  West,  Vol.  Ill,  p.  276)  says:  "When  peace  .was 
declared  with  Great  Britain,  the  backwoodsmen  had  spread  westward  in  groups 
almost  to  the  Mississippi,  and  they  had  increased  in  numbers  to  some  25,000  souls, 
of  whom  a  few  hundred  dwelt  in  the  bend  of  the  Cumberland  while  the  rest  were 
about  equally  divided  between  Kentucky  and  Holston.  These  figures  are  simply 
estimates,  but  they  are  based  on  careful  study  and  comparison,  and  though  they 
must  be  some  hundreds,  and  maybe  some  thousands  out  of  the  way,  are  quite  near 
enough  for  practical  purposes." 

36 


PIONEER  ROUTES  OF  TRAVEL  AND  EARLY  SETTLEMENTS 

which  he  commonly  used  kept  often  to  the  high  ground,  even  to 
the  top  of  the  ridges,  their  general  course  controlled  by  the  direction 
of  the  ranges,  location  of  gaps,  and  courses  of  streams. 

An  inference,  however,  as  to  the  early  importance  of  rivers, 
creeks,  and  branches  as  routes  of  travel,  may  be  gathered  from  a 
recital  of  directions  actually  given  to  the  writer  a  year  ago  when 
he  was  about  to  take  a  ninety-mile  ride  from  one  mountain  school 
to  another  and  thence  to  a  county-seat.  These  directions,  it  should 
be  explained,  were  not  furnished  by  one  person,  the  morning  in- 
formant generally  closing  his  instructions  with  the  advice  to  "stop 
by  and  ask  .  .  .  ,  at  the  mouth  of  ...  ,  and  he  will  tell 
you  how  to  go." 

"Go  up  the  Trace  Branch  of  the  right  fork  of  Troublesome; 
down  Betty's  Troublesome  to  Carr;  down  Carr  to  the  mouth  of 
Defeated;  up  to  the  head  of  Defeated;  over  a  mountain;  down 
Bull's  Creek  to  the  North  Fork  of  the  River;  down  the  River 
for  a  mile  to  the  mouth  of  Leatherwood;  up  Leatherwood  four 
miles  to  Stony  Fork;  up  Stony  Fork  to  the  head;  cross  the 
mountain;  follow  down  the  least  branch  on  yon  side  of  the 
mountain  to  Line  Fork;  up  Line  Fork  to  the  headwaters  of 
Greasy;   down  Greasy  to  the  'college.' 

"  From  the  'college'  go  down  Greasy  six  miles  to  the  mouth  of 
Rockhouse;  go  up  Rockhouse  and  take  the  right  fork  over  the 
mountain;  across  Wolf  and  Coon  to  the  headwaters  of  Cutshin; 
down  Cutshin,  fording  three  times;  up  Flacky,  across  a  right 
rough  little  hill  to  the  head  of  Owl's  Nest;  down  Owl's  Nest  to 
Middle  Fork,  and  up  Middle  Fork  a  piece  to  a  deep  ford;  ford 
the  River,  and  you  are  at  the  place  you  are  aiming  at."^ 

1  Notes  on  directions: 

Trace  Branch.  There  are  a  number  of  "trace"  branches  or  forks  in  the  moun- 
tains of  Kentucky.  They  are  the  branches  or  forks  of  streams  which  the  trail  or 
trace  follows. 

Defeated.  According  to  tradition,  some  hunters  were  defeated  here  by  Indians, 
and  several  killed. 

Leatherwood.  So-called  from  a  kind  of  tree  formerly  prevalent  along  its  course. 
As  described  by  our  host,  "hit  were  a  tree  what  sprangles  out  at  the  top,  kindly  like 
a  rosy  bush." 

Greasy.  According  to  our  host,  called  Licking  Branch  when  Kentucky  was 
part  of  Virginia;  then  Laurel,  from  one  of  its  tributaries;  later,  a  hunter  killed  a 
bear  upon  a  flat  rock,  threw  the  entrails  into  the  creek  which  became  greasy  in 
appearance;  asked  where  the  bear  was  killed,  he  replied,  "Up  there  on  Greasy," 
and  the  name  stuck. 

Rockhouse.  So  called  from  the  rocky  banks  being  worn  away  by  the  action  of 
the  stream,  with  tops  overhanging  like  a  roof. 

Cutshin.    One  tradition  holds  that  it  was  named  from  an  accident  to  a  wood- 

37 


?000 


THE  SOUTHERN  HIGHLANDER 

Clearness  of  understanding  as  to  progress  of  settlement  will  be 
facilitated  if  the  Highland  country  be  pictured  as  consisting  of  two 
parts:  first,  the  Valley  section,  which  includes  the  Greater  Appa- 
lachian Valley  and  the  larger  river  valleys  of  the  two  belts  that 
border  it;  and  secondly,  the  more  rugged  portions  of  the  mountain 
country  composed  of  the  ridges  and  mountains  which  separate  the 
larger  valleys.  There  are,  of  course,  within  the  ridge  and  mountain 
sections  lesser  valleys,  and  the  rivulets  and  branches  which  find 
their  way  down  the  mountain  slopes  are  tributaries  of  the  larger 
streams  of  the  major  valleys,  and  also  trails  or  "traces"  from 
minor  valley  to  minor  valley,  and  from  minor  to  greater  valley. 
There  is  often,  too,  bordering  these  lesser  streams,  much  fertile  and 
tillable  land,  so  that  settlement  has  been  pushed  at  times  to  the 
springs  which  feed  them. 

Viewing  the  Southern  Highlands  as  a  whole,  the  accessible  val- 
leys were  first  settled.  The  passage  of  military  expeditions  and 
western  settlers  over  the  mountain  trails,  from  the  Carolinas  into 
Tennessee,  early  advertised  the  fertility  of  the  broader  valleys  and 
led  toward  the  close  of  the  eighteenth  century  to  the  rise  of  such 
mountain  communities  as  Morganton  and  Asheville,^  North  Caro- 
lina. The  country  along  the  main  routes  of  travel  would  naturally 
be  soonest  developed,  although  this  was  by  no  means  always  true. 
As  late  as  1790  there  was  a  stretch  of  one  hundred  miles  on  the 
V/ilderness  Road  with  no  sign  of  habitation,  and  Michaux,^  in  1796, 
traveling  a  much  used  trace  in  North  Carolina,  reports  many  miles 
along  the  road  desolate  and  unpopulated. 

The  cessions,  at  difi'erent  periods,  of  lands  held  by  the  Indians 
were  determining  factors  in  settlement.  The  Highlands  were  not 
open  to  white  occupation  by  one  treaty  but  by  a  series  of  treaties. 
Consequently  some  mountain  areas  were  available  earlier  than 
some  valley  areas,  though  it  was  true  that  with  each  cession  the 
valleys  were  settled  earlier  than  the  ridges. 

The  last  treaty  of  the  Colonial  Period  that  affected  the  High- 
cutter,  who  here  cut  his  shin.  Another,  to  the  effect  that  here  in  winter  the  stream 
freezes  so  hard  as  to  cut  the  shins  of  mules  and  horses  which  break  through  the  ice. 

^  Tradition  has  it  that  the  earliest  settler  of  Buncombe  County  came  in  by  way 
of  Old  Fort  to  the  headwaters  of  the  Swannanoa  River,  and  down  its  valley,  a  route 
now  followed  by  the  Salisbury  and  Asheville  Branch  of  the  Southern  Railway. 

*  Michaux,  Vol.  Ill,  in  Reuben  G.  Thwaites'  Early  Western  Travels. 

38 


PIONEER  ROUTES  OF  TRAVEL  AND  EARLY  SETTLEMENTS 

lands  was  that  of  July  20,  1777,  when  a  tract  of  6,064  square  miles, 
largely  of  mountain  land  within  western  North  Carolina  and  east- 
ern Tennessee  abutting  it,  was  given  over  by  the  Cherokees.  In- 
cluding this  cession  there  was  thus  open  to  entry  by  1777,  all  of  our 
territory  in  Maryland,  Virginia,  West  Virginia,  Kentucky,  almost 
all  of  the  limited  upland  section  of  South  Carolina,  and  about  one- 
fourth  of  western  North  Carolina  and  east  Tennessee — in  all,  an 
area  of  approximately  68,000  of  the  112,000  square  miles  of  the 
Southern  Highlands. 

The  first  Indian  treaty  made  after  the  establishment  of  the 
Federal  Government  was  that  of  November  28,  1785,  when  the 
boundaries  of  the  Cherokee  Nation  were  defined.  These  boun- 
daries, however,  did  not  enlarge  the  amount  of  land  available 
within  the  Southern  Highlands,  save  for  an  area  of  550  square 
miles  along  the  French  Broad  River  in  North  Carolina,  lying  just 
west  of  the  land  ceded  on  July  20,  1777.  By  successive  treaties 
more  of  the  Highlands  was  opened  to  occupation,  but  it  was  not 
until  1805  that  Indian  claims  to  the  Cumberland  Plateau  section 
of  Tennessee  were  extinguished;  and  not  until  183 5-1 838,  when 
the  Cherokees  gave  over  all  of  their  land  east  of  the  Mississippi  and 
were  finally  removed  to  their  reservation  beyond  it,  that  the  larger 
part  of  our  territory  in  northern  Georgia  and  northeastern  Ala- 
bama and  the  last  mountain  lands  in  western  North  Carolina  and 
southeastern  Tennessee  were  legally  free  for  entry.  Even  then 
a  few  Cherokees,  still  unresigned  to  banishment  from  the  land  of 
their  ancestors,  refused  exile  and  hid  themselves  in  the  wilderness. 
A  small  reservation  was  later  set  aside  for  them  in  western  North 
Carolina,  where  their  descendants  still  live. 

It  is  not  to  be  supposed,  however,  that  there  were  no  cabins 
raised  on  1  ndian  soil  prior  to  the  drawing  of  treaties.  Early  descrip- 
tions of  lands,  metes,  and  bounds,  were  inaccurate,  and  uninten- 
tional transgression  often  took  place.  There  was  also  wilful  trans- 
gression in  the  appropriation  of  lands,  and  individual  squatters 
would  occupy  tracts  apparently  with  the  hope  that  later  treaties 
with  the  Indians  would  legalize  their  holdings.  Speaking  generally, 
however,  there  were  few  settlements  in  the  mountain-ridge  section 
until  the  last  decade  of  the  century  and  none  in  large  numbers 
until  after  1800. 

39 


THE  SOUTHERN  HIGHLANDER 

The  Watauga  Settlement  in  1769  served  as  an  advance  guard  to 
that  of  the  mountain-ridge  section.  While  in  general  it  may  be 
said  that  the  broad  central  valleys  of  the  Holston,  Watauga,  and 
Nolichucky  offered  sufficient  opportunity  for  the  expansion  of 
population  for  some  years,  yet,  from  the  time  of  William  Bean's 
entrance  into  this  mountain  region,  the  valleys  of  the  neighbor- 
ing ranges  began  to  receive  a  scattering  immigration.  Almost  con- 
temporaneously, home  seekers  made  their  appearance  in  western 
North  Carolina,  which  is  geographically  a  part  of  the  same  moun- 
tain area.  These  sections  were  settled  partly  from  the  Watauga 
district  of  Tennessee,  and  partly  from  the  North  and  South  Caro- 
lina Piedmont  frontier. 

In  eastern  Kentucky  it  is  probable  that  the  first  settlers  entered 
the  border  counties  somewhat  after  1790,  and  that  its  mountains  as 
a  whole  did  not  receive  any  great  influx  of  population  until  after 
1800.  This  was  largely  due  to  the  fact  that  in  Kentucky  the 
Wilderness  Road  passed  for  most  of  its  course  to  the  west  of  the 
mountains,  and  that  on  account  of  the  Cumberland  barrier  to  the 
east  there  were  few  gateways  into  the  eastern  part  of  Kentucky. 

Imlay,  whose  travels  were  first  published  in  1792,  referring  un- 
doubtedly to  the  mountainous  areas  within  West  Virginia,  western 
Virginia,  and  eastern  Kentucky,  says: 

The  country  that  separates  the  back  counties  of  Virginia  from 
Kentucky  is  the  greater  part  of  it  mountainous,  and  through 
which  to  its  champaign  lands  is  nearly  250  miles,  the  whole  of 
that  tract  of  wilderness,  extending  from  Holston  nearly  north, 
crossing  the  Great  Sandy  River,  the  Great  and  Little  Kanha- 
ways,  quite  into  the  fine  lands  in  the  district  belonging  to  Penn- 
sylvania, exclusive  of  some  small  tracts  in  the  upper  counties  of 
Virginia  upon  the  Ohio,  all  of  which  are  occupied,  is  altogether 
broken  into  high,  rugged,  and  barren  hills,  the  bottoms  excepted, 
and,  in  all  probability  will  not  be  inhabited  for  centuries  to  come, 
by  reason  of  the  immense  tracts  of  good  lands  lying  west  of  the 
Ohio  and  Mississippi.^ 

adding: 

that  tract  of  country  lying  southeasterly  from  Holston  and 
extending  to  Cumberland;  Powell's  Valley,  Nolichucky,  French 
Broad,  and  Clinch  excepted,  is  little  better. 

1  Imlay,  Gilbert:  A  Topographic  Description  of  the  Western  Territory  of  North 
America,  p.  239.     New  York,  Samuel  Campbell,  1793. 

40 


PIONEER  ROUTES  OF  TRAVEL  AND  EARLY  SETTLEMENTS 

This  later  reference,  we  may  infer,  is  to  the  mountainous  mass,  or 
at  least  to  a  portion  of  it,  which  in  its  entirety  includes  the  moun- 
tainous section  of  eastern  Tennessee,  western  North  Carolina,  and 
part  of  northern  Georgia. 

It  is  probable  that  much  of  the  settlement  of  the  mountain-ridge 
section  was  due  to  the  natural  increase  of  families,  the  rapid  suc- 
cession of  generations  pushing  their  clearings  farther  and  farther 
up  creeks  and  minor  valleys  away  from  the  land  already  under 
cultivation  by  older  members  of  their  families.  There  was,  too, 
more  or  less  movement  back  to  the  mountains  by  families  who  had 
passed  through  to  the  west,  and  who  then,  for  various  causes, 
turned  back  and  took  up  land  in  the  mountain-ridge  section. 

This  rougher  country  of  itself  had  certain  definite  assets  which 
invited  immigration.  Among  these,  the  discovery  of  salt  springs  in 
Kentucky  and  West  Virginia  was  a  strong  inducement  to  settle- 
ment. These  "  licks,"  so  called  from  the  fact  that  the  spring  basins 
incrusted  with  salt  were  the  resort  of  buflalo,  elk,  deer,  and  other 
wild  game,  had  long  been  familiar  to  the  Indians,  who  had  manu- 
factured salt  in  early  times.  The  lack  of  this  commodity  was 
keenly  felt  by  the  first  settlers,  and  even  now  there  are  in  the 
mountains  those  who  tell  of  the  long  annual  journey  to  the  east, 
made  by  their  great-grandparents  in  search  of  salt.' 

The  rapid  growth  of  population  in  the  region  of  a  salt  spring  may 
be  illustrated  by  the  early  history  of  Clay  County,   Kentucky. 

»  The  importance  of  the  discovery  of  salt  in  the  development  of  the  United  States 
is  thus  described  by  Turner: 

"The  early  settlers  were  tied  to  the  coast  by  the  need  of  salt,  without  which  they 
could  not  preserve  their  meats  or  live  in  comfort.  Writing  in  1752,  Bishop  Spangen- 
burg  says  of  a  colony  for  which  he  was  seeking  lands  in  North  Carolina:  'They  will 
require  salt  &  other  necessaries  which  they  can  neither  manufacture  nor  raise. 
Either  they  must  go  to  Charleston,  which  is  300  miles  distant  ...  Or  else 
they  must  go  down  to  Boling's  Point  in  Va.  on  a  branch  of  the  James  &  is  also  300 
miles  from  here  ...  Or  else  they  must  go  down  the  Roanoke— 1  know  not 
how  many  miles — where  salt  is  brought  up  from  the  Cape  Fear.'  This  may  serve 
as  a  typical  illustration.  An  annual  pilgrimage  to  the  coast  for  salt  thus  became 
essential.  Taking  flocks  or  furs  and  ginseng  root,  the  early  settlers  sent  their  pack 
trains  after  seeding  time  each  year  to  the  coast.  This  proved  to  be  an  important 
educational  influence,  since  it  was  almost  the  only  way  in  which  the  pioneer  learned 
what  was  going  on  in  the  East.  But  when  discovery  was  made  of  the  salt  springs 
of  the  Kanawha,  and  the  Holston,  and  Kentucky,  and  central  New  York,  the  W  est 
began  to  be  freed  from  dependence  on  the  coast,  it  was  in  part  the  effect  of  finding 
these  salt  springs  that  enabled  settlement  to  cross  the  mountains  " — Turner, 
Frederick  Jackson:  The  Frontier  in  American  History,  Report  of  the  American 
Historical  Association,  1893. 

41 


THE  SOUTHERN  HIGHLANDER 

The  first  settler  of  whom  there  is  record  in  this  section,  one  James 
Collins,  is  said  to  have  discovered  a  salt  spring  in  1800  while  fol- 
lowing a  buffalo  trace,  and  to  have  made  the  first  salt  ever  made 
in  that  country.  In  the  court  house  at  Manchester,  Clay  County, 
Kentucky,  there  is  on  record  the  sale  to  James  White,  of  Wash- 
ington County,  Virginia — a  quartermaster  of  General  Cox  of 
Tennessee — the  salt  mines  of  Ballenger,  occupied  by  outlaw^  and 
patented  under  a  grant  to  Jacob  Meyers — 4,000  acres.  This  was  in 
1804.  Two  years  later  the  population  had  so  increased  as  to  lead 
to  the  organization  of  the  county.  As  late  as  1846,  Clay  County 
had  fifteen  furnaces  producing  200,000  bushels  of  salt  annually.  So 
great  indeed  was  the  attraction  of  the  salt  works  as  to  lead  to  a 
back  settlement  of  this  section  from  central  Kentucky,  and  tradi- 
tion presents  the  picture  of  wealthy  landlords  from  the  Bluegrass 
living  on  baronial  mountain  estates  in  almost  feudal  fashion,  sur- 
rounded by  slaves  and  retainers. 

The  discovery  of  gold  in  northern  Georgia  in  1828  brought  into 
that  part  of  the  mountains  hundreds  of  people  in  search  of  treasure. 
It  will  be  recalled  that  this  section,  then  known  as  Cherokee 
County,  was,  together  with  northern  Alabama  and  parts  of  North 
Carolina  and  southeastern  Tennessee,  held  by  the  Cherokees  until 
1838.  The  inrush  of  gold  seekers  into  Indian  territory,  with  the 
drinking,  gaming,  and  brawling  that  accompanied  it,  provoked 
from  Governor  Gilmer  of  Georgia  the  following  letter,  dated  May 
6,  1830,  and  addressed  to  John  McPherson  Berrien,  then  Attorney- 
General  of  the  United  States: 

I  am  in  doubt  as  to  what  ought  to  be  done  with  the  gold 
diggers.  They  with  their  various  attendants,  foragers,  and  sup- 
pliers, make  up  between  six  and  ten  thousand  persons.  They 
occupy  the  country  between  the  Chestatee  and  Etowah  Rivers, 
near  the  mountains,  gold  being  found  in  the  greatest  quantity 
deposited  in  the  small  streams,  which  flow  into  these  rivers. ^ 

In  spite  of  the  Governor's  proclamation  prohibiting  gold  mining  in 
north  Georgia,  these  "paper  bullets"  as  he  described  them,  "had 
little  influence  over  a  people  who  could  not  read,"  and  miners  man- 

^  Occupied  by  squatters  until  they  had  obtained  title  by  adverse  possession. 

*  Quoted  in  A  Preliminary  Report  on  a  Part  of  the  Gold  Deposits  of  Georgia,  by 
W.  S.  Yeates,  S.  W.  McCaliie,  and  F.  P.  King,  Bulletin  No.  4  A,  Geological  Survey 
of  Georgia.     Atlanta,  Ga.,  1896. 

42 


PIONEER  ROUTES  OF  TRAVEL  AND  EARLY  SETTLEMENTS 

aged  to  continue  operations.  The  first  deposit  of  gold  from 
Georgia,  made  in  1830,  amounted  to  $212,000;  and  so  important 
were  these  fields  that  a  branch  of  the  United  States  Mint  estab- 
lished at  Dahlonega,  Lumpkin  County,  in  1838,  was  maintained  for 
some  years.  While  many  of  the  gold  seekers  left  the  country  after 
the  first  rush  was  over,  some  remained  to  become  permanent 
residents.^ 

Other  causes  which  brought  settlers  to  the  mountains  were  war 
bounties  to  soldiers,  often  taking  the  form  of  grants  of  land,  and 
the  opening  up  of  Indian  boundaries.  In  addition,  the  mountain 
country  was  rich  in  game  and  timber,  and  had  a  cool  climate  and 
an  abundance  of  pure  water. 

For  many  years,  even  as  late  as  the  middle  of  the  nineteenth 
century,  immigrants  in  large  numbers  continued  to  travel  along 
the  mountain  trails  and  passes.  The  conditions  causing  these 
migrations  were  religious,  social,  and  economic.  The  struggle  of 
the  non-conformists,  especially  the  Baptists, ^  against  the  Estab- 
lished Church  in  Virginia;  social  conditions  of  the  Tidewater;  and 
in  particular  the  Revolution,  which  freed  the  western  territory 
from  restraint,  and  thus  offered  new  opportunities  to  men  im- 
poverished by  long  war,  were  all  factors  in  the  early  movements. 

By  1800  the  great  migration  from  north  to  west  had  been  de- 
flected almost  entirely  from  the  Wilderness  Road  to  the  Ohio 
River  route,  or  was  moving  overland  toward  the  great  northwest- 
ern territory  of  Ohio,  Indiana,  Illinois,  Missouri,  and  Michigan, 
then  open  to  settlement  and  accessible  by  northern  routes.  Emi- 
gration from  Virginia  and  the  Carolinas,  especially  from  the  Tide- 
water sections,  however,  continued  for  many  years  to  flow  through 
the  mountains  both  by  the  old  channels  and  by  routes  not  before 
available  because  of  danger  from  Indian  attack.     Thus  in   Ken- 

1  "Gold  was  looked  for  in  all  these  Cherokee  counties,  and  so  the  lots  were  only 
40  acres  in  size.  When  gold  was  not  found,  and  there  was  no  indication  of  it,  the 
lands  were  very  cheap;  from  $10.00  to  S20.00  was  the  price  of  a  single  lot,  and  many 
a  man  bought  a  small  farm  for  the  price  of  an  Indian  pony.  The  cheapness  of  the 
lands  led  to  rapid  and  thick  settlement.  The  country  was  soon  filled  up  with  enter- 
prising young  people,  and  numbers  who  became  substantial  farmers  on  large  farms 
began  life  in  one  ot  these  Cherokee  Counties  on  forty  acres  of  poor  land." — Smith, 
George  Gillman:  The  Story  of  Georgia  and  the  Georgia  People,  1732  to  i860,  pp. 
423-424. 

2See  Chapter  Vll I,  p.  158!?. 

5  43 


THE  SOUTHERN  HIGHLANDER 

tucky,  while  numbers  used  the  great  routes  of  early  days,  emigrants 
later  were  also  able  to  pass  directly  from  Virginia  into  Kentucky 
through  gaps  in  the  wall  of  the  Cumberlands  and  by  trails  along  the 
Kanawha/  Big  Sandy,  and  other  rivers.  Many  now  living  in  the 
eastern  part  of  the  state  claim  that  their  ancestors  came  in  through 
one  of  the  various  eastern  gaps,-  and  it  has  often  been  said  that 
the  Kentucky  mountains  were  populated  almost  entirely  by  Vir- 
ginia. This  is  undoubtedly  an  overstatement,  for  the  evidence  of 
names,  pension  lists,  and  Kentucky  traditions  as  well,  point  to  a 
large  percentage  of  settlers  from  North  Carolina;  yet  in  connec- 
tion with  the  claim  just  mentioned,  it  will  serve  to  indicate  the 
later  lines  of  movement  through  the  mountains. 

The  history  of  the  migrations  of  one  of  these  Kentucky  families, 
as  given  by  the  original  pioneer's  great-great-grandson,  whose 
grandmother  remembered  the  journey  and  told  him  of  it,  may  be 
suggestive,  the  more  in  that  it  is  probably  the  history  of  much  of 

1  "The  main  New-Kanawha  Trail  with  which  they  (the  more  northern  trans- 
montane  trails)  connected,  and  its  branches,  were  regarded  in  Virginia  simply  as 
portage  paths  to  the  head  of  navigation  on  the  Kanawha  River,  whence  the  Ohio 
might  be  gained.  ...  it  was  not  until  after  1783,  when  Indian  attacks  had 
become  less  frequent,  .  .  .  that  serious  attention  was  given  to  the  betterment 
of  the  main  trail  and  a  Kentucky  extension,  as  a  'short  cut'  between  east  and  west. 

.  .  Imlay's  map,  published  1793,  gives  the 'New  Road  to  Virginia,' extending 
from  Lexington  by  way  of  the  junction  of  the  two  forks  of  the  Big  Sandy  at  Bal- 
clutta,  now  Louisa,  to  the  falls  of  the  Kanawha,  where  it  connects  with  the  main 
road,  which  extends  along  the  Kanawha  and  Greenbrier  Rivers  to  Winchester, 
situated  on  the  road  leading  to  Richmond,  Alexandria,  and  other  cities.  Indian 
attacks  rendered  this  route  unsafe  until  after  the  close  of  the  period." — Verhoeff, 
Mary:  The  Kentucky  Mountains,  7  ransportation  and  Commerce,  1793  to  191 1, 
Ch.  in,  p.  90  ff.     Filson  Club  Publication  No.  26. 

^  "The  first  County  Judge  was  Nat  Collins,  son  of  Jim  Collins,  and  a  very  strong 
preacher,  who  came  here  in  1806  from  North  Carolina  and  was  making  his  way  for 
the  Bluegrass  section.  There  were  eight  men  and  women  and  Preacher  Collins  led 
the  bunch.  1  hey  had  come  by  the  way  of  Cumberland  Gap  and  did  not  know  how 
to  get  across  the  Stone  Mountain  into  the  Bluegrass  region.  1  here  was  no  Cumber- 
land Gap  tunnel  then  or  any  railroads,  only  a  wild  wilderness.  The  bunch  came  up 
Powell's  River  to  where  Wise,  Va.,  is  now,  and  struck  out  through  the  Pound  Gap 
and  on  to  the  head  of  Kentucky  River  and  down  the  river  to  where  Whitesburg  is 
now  located.  There  was  not  a  family  living  in  Letcher  County  then,  as  Daniel 
Boone  had  left  his  camp  at  the  mouth  of  Boone's  Fork  and  went  to  the  fort  at 
Boonesborough,  so  they  passed  through  where  Whitesburg  now  is  and  up  Sandlick 
Creek  and  over  a  hill  on  to  Camp  Branch,  it  was  just  before  Christmas  and  they 
all  went  up  a  small  drean  under  a  cliff  and  laid  out.  The  next  morning  the  snow 
was  six  feet  deep,  and  they  were  all  covered  with  snow.  The  snow  lasted  about 
three  months,  so  they  lay  up  all  winter,  and  the  men  would  kill  deer  and  wild 
turkey,  and  they  all  had  a  very  good  time  camping  out." — History  of  Corporal  Fess 
Whitaker,  Life  in  the  Kentucky  Mountains,  Mexico,  and  Texas,  p.  107.  Louis- 
ville, Ky.,  Standard  Printing  Co.,  1918. 

44 


PIONEER  ROUTES  OF  TRAVEL  AND  EARLY  SETTLEMENTS 

the  settlement  in  the  mountain  section  of  Kentucky. ^  In  1825  one 
Ambrose  Amburgey  came  over  from  the  Qinch  River,  Virginia, 
into  what  is  now  Knott  County,  Kentucky.  The  country  was 
exceedingly  rough,  but  he  found  a  couple,  James  and  Priscilla 
Davis,  living  near  the  mouth  of  Defeated  Branch.  From  them 
he  bought,  for  $600,  the  rights  to  over  10,000  acres  of  lands  along 
Carr  Creek,  a  narrow  but  fertile  and  lovely  valley.  He  then  went 
back  to  Virginia,  gathered  up  his  wife  and  two  children,  his  parents, 
and  brothers-in-law,  together  with  their  families  and  their  slaves — 
in  all  a  goodly  company.  The  next  year  they  started  for  Kentucky, 
going  through  the  Pound  Gap  into  Letcher  County.  There  they 
"tented"  and  made  their  crop  through  the  summer.  In  the 
autumn  they  moved  on  to  Carr.  Amburgey  settled  the  several 
families  along  various  parts  of  his  purchase.  The  children  were 
many,  ten  or  fifteen  in  each  household,  and  in  a  generation  or  so 
there  were  literally  hundreds  of  the  family  in  that  region.  Now,  in 
this  and  neighboring  counties,  there  are  thousands  of  their  de- 
scendants. 

That  some  settlers  came  unintentionally  into  the  mountains  of 
Kentucky,  through  the  purchase  of  land  which  they  had  supposed 

^  The  old  surveys  and  land  patents  of  eastern  Kentucky,  dating  181  5-1825,  were 
made  along  either  side  of  the  big  rivers  and  creeks;  that  is  to  say,  they  covered  the 
larger  valleys.  In  the  beginning  when  land  was  plentiful,  little  importance  was 
attached  to  the  smaller  valleys  or  to  the  ridge  slopes.  It  is  possible  that  the  settlers 
did  not  claim  these,  or  it  may  be  that  they  did  not  consider  it  necessary  to  designate 
them  especially.  Later,  however,  as  families  increased  greatly,  the  value  of  land 
bordering  the  small  streams  and  on  the  sides  of  the  mountains  became  apparent. 
Many  of  the  original  owners  moved  their  patents  back,  and  back  again,  of  their 
first  boundaries,  but  in  the  course  of  time  it  became  commonly  accepted  that  a  man 
holding  a  patent  covering  the  valley  or  bottom  land  where  he  lived,  owned  on  either 
side  in  a  straight  line  to  the  top  of  the  ridge,  even  if  this  was  not  so  entered  on  his 
survey.  Blazing,  or  otherwise  marking  such  boundaries,  was  held  sutficient  evi- 
dence of  ownership. 

The  indefiniteness  of  such  claims  gave  rise  not  only  to  great  confusion  but  to  the 
practice  of  "wild-catting,"  which  was  at  its  height  from  1860-1870.  "Wild- 
catters" were  men  who,  through  familiarity  with  the  country,  or  through  agents  or 
surveyors  who  were  familiar  with  it,  knew  the  deficiencies  of  the  various  land  patents. 
In  order  to  get  a  title  to  such  territory  as  had  not  been  legally  registered,  they  would 
throw  a  blanket  claim  over  a  designated  area,  usually  from  the  top  of  a  ridge  down 
either  side  in  lots  of  several  thousand  acres.  In  this  way  they  secured  a  claim  to 
thousands  of  acres  of  unpatented  ridge  lands  and  irregular  tracts  of  unpatented 
territory  along  the  smaller  branches.  For  some  years  much  litigation  and  bitter 
feeling  were  engendered  by  these  "wild-cat"  claims.  Ultimately,  little  was  gained 
by  the  practice,  as  it  could  be  proved  in  court,  generally,  that  the  mountain  citizens 
were  using,  or  tending  toward  the  use  of  these  lands  for  legitimate  purposes,  whereas 
the  "wild-catters"  had  left  them  undeveloped. 

45 


THE  SOUTHERN  HIGHLANDER 

lay  in  the  far-famed  limestone  region,  is  also  true.  William  Savage, 
writing  in  1819,  mentions  the  case  of  an  Englishman  from  York- 
shire who  bought  30,000  acres  in  Kentucky,^  and  who  upon  his 
arrival  found  that: 

His  land  was  barren,  situated  on  rocky  mountains,  far  removed 
from  any  settlers;  no  roads,  no  river  in  the  vicinity;  and  totally 
unfit  for  cultivation  or  settling.  ...  He  consoled  himself 
vv'hen  he  found  that  his  land  abounded  with  coal,  .  .  .  but 
this  consolation  was  not  of  long  continuance;  his  friend,  who 
knew  the  customs  and  manners  of  the  people  better  than  him- 
self, assured  him  that  the  low  price  of  land  enhanced  the  price  of 
labor,  for  any  man  could  purchase  a  few  acres  by  working  a  few 
months,  and  everyone  preferred  living  upon  his  own  property, 
however  poorly,  to  being  a  servant;  so  that  it  was  difficult  to 
procure  laborers  to  work  even  above  ground;  and  he  would  find 
it  impossible,  while  land  continued  so  plentiful,  to  find  men  who 
would  work  in  the  bowels  of  the  earth.  Nay,  that  if  it  were  pos- 
sible to  raise  coal,  to  transport  it  to  Lexington  and  pitch  it  in 
the  market-place;  then  to  send  the  bell-man  round  the  town  to 
inform  the  inhabitants  there  was  coal  to  distribute  gratis  to 
those  who  would  fetch  it,  that  it  would  still  remain  on  his  hands, 
as  the  inhabitants  would  not  burn  it,  preferring  wood. 

Thus  his  visionary  expectations  vanished;  his  property 
wasted;  he  became  dissatisfied;  the  tax  collector  each  year  sold 
a  part  of  the  land  for  non-payment  of  the  land  tax;  and  this 
enthusiast  in  the  purchase  of  land  in  America  died  a  disappointed 
man;  and  his  son,  anxious  to  return  to  England,  sold  the  re- 
mainder of  his  father's  purchase,  amounting  to  many  acres,  to 
a  person  in  America,  who  knew  the  lots,  for  $50.00! 

1  do  not  mention  the  name  of  this  individual  who  was  ruined 
by  his  speculation,  but  it  is  not  the  less  a  fact.  It  was  suffi- 
ciently well-known  to  many  in  England;  and  is  a  matter  of 
notoriety  in  Kentucky. 

From  1830  to  1850,  the  westward  migration  from  the  Southern 
states  received  a  new  impetus.  The  decline  in  prices  of  cotton  and 
tobacco  in  the  South,  together  with  the  exhaustion  of  the  soil,  sent 
many  thousands,  including  not  only  the  poorer  small  farmers  but 
planters  caught  by  the  general  financial  depression,  to  the  north- 
west and  southwest.     In  this  new  tide  which  passed  along  the  old 

1  Savage,  William :  Observations  on  Emigration  to  the  United  States  of  America, 
illustrated  by  original  Facts,  pp.  26-28.     London,  18 19. 

46 


PIONEER  ROUTES  OF  TRAVEL  AND  EARLY  SETTLEMENTS 

mountain  trails,'  might  be  seen  "every  conceivable  sort  of  con- 
veyance, from  a  handsome  family  carriage  to  the  humblest  sort  of 
ox-cart." 

"The  Southerner  packed  up  his  household  goods,"  says 
Pooley,  "faced  the  west,  and  travelled  by  the  most  convenient 
road."  An  illustration  of  this  characteristic  is  given  in  the  an- 
swer made  by  a  North  Carolina  man  who,  travelling  westward 
with  all  his  earthly  possessions,  was  asked  where  he  was  going. 
"No  where  in  pertick'lar,"  he  answered.  "Me  and  my  wife 
thought  we'd  hunt  a  place  to  settle.  We've  no  money,  nor  no 
plunder— nothin'  but  just  ourselves  and  this  nag— we  thought 
we'd  try  our  luck  in  a  new  country."  (From  Chicago  Weekly 
American,  June  20,  1835.)^ 

Pooley  estimates,  moreover,  that : 

Before  1850,  Virginia  had  lost  by  emigration  26  percent  of  her 
native-born  free  inhabitants.  South  Carolina  had  lost  36  per- 
cent, and  North  Carolina  31  percent.  Further  examination  of 
statistics  will,  however,  show  that  the  movement  was  probably 
almost  entirely  within  the  limits  of  the  planting  states  them- 
selves. From  1 83 1  to  1840,  Georgia  gained  nearly  34  percent 
in  population;  Alabama  91  percent;  and  Arkansas  275  percent. 
In  the  next  decade,  while  the  percentages  of  increase  were  lower, 
the  actual  gain  in  population  in  these  states  was  little  less  than 
in  the  preceding  decade;  and  if  Texas,  which  appears  for  the 
first  time  in  the  Census  reports,  be  included,  the  increase  was 
nearly  200,000  in  excess  of  that  of  the  preceding  decade.^ 

Contemporary  with  and  succeeding  these  later  migrations,  the 
mountain  trails  were  also  used  for  transporting  merchandise  and 
for  moving  large  droves  of  stock— horses,  cattle,  and  hogs— from 

>  "Theroadsupthe  Virginia  valleys  converged  at  the  Cumberland  Gap,  although 
some  movers  preferred  to  travel  towards  the  Potomac  River  striking  the  old  Na- 
tional Road  there.  Still  others  followed  along  the  road  leading  through  Charlottes- 
ville, Lewisburg  and  Charlestown  to  Guyandotte  on  the  Ohio.  From  the  Carolinas 
they  followed  the  Yadkin  through  Wilkesville,  thence  northward  through  Ward's 
Gap  (Virginia)  across  the  valley  to  the  Great  Kanawha:  or  turning  southwest  from 
Wilkesville  some  went  through  the  State  Gap  (North  Carolina)  ^md  found  their 
way  to  one  of  the  Ohio  River  towns  by  way  of  the  Cumberland  Gap.  The  roads 
of  South  Carolina  followed  the  rivers,  and  converging  at  the  Saluda  Gap  in  the  Blue 
Ridge,  passed  through  Ashe\ille  (North  Carolina),  through  the  Smoky  .Mountains 
and  the  Cumberland  Gap  to  Kentucky.  .As  a  general  rule  where  there  was  any 
tendency  to  follow  a  beaten  line  of  travel  it  was  towards  some  point  on  the  Ohio 
between  Cincinnati  and  Louisville."— Pooley,  William  Vipond:  The  Settlement  of 
Illinois  from  1830  to  1850,  p.  356.     Madison,  Wis.,  iMay,  1908. 

2  Ibid.,  p.  353.  '  Ibid.,  p.  334- 

47 


THE  SOUTHERN  HIGHLANDER 

the  west  to  the  east.  Four  or  five  thousand  hogs  were  driven  at 
a  time  from  Ohio  eastward,  and  the  droves  passed  often  through 
Tennessee,  Virginia,  and  the  Carohnas,  where  the  forest  mast  sup- 
phed  abundant  food.  Through  Cumberland  Gap,  mules  and  horses 
were  driven  to  the  Tennessee  Valley,  and  so  southward  to  supply 
southern  plantations.  In  1828  the  value  of  livestock  passing 
through  Cumberland  Gap  was  estimated  at  ^1,167,000;  while  in 
1824  at  Saluda  Gap,  the  main  gap  for  trails  connecting  the  coasts 
of  South  Carolina  and  Georgia  with  transmontane  regions,  the 
value  of  horses,  cattle,  and  hogs,  brought  from  the  west  to  supply 
the  south  is  held  to  have  amounted  to  more  than  a  million  dollars.^ 
The  chief  center  for  distribution  of  merchandise  into  the  back  re- 
gions of  the  Carolinas  and  Alabama  was  Knoxville. 

in  view,  then,  of  all  the  various  movements  through  the  moun- 
tains, and  of  the  fact  that  the  accessible  valley  regions  were  early 
occupied,  it  seems  reasonable  to  suppose  that  some,  journeying 
through  the  mountains  in  the  later  migrations,  passed  by  many 
routes  and  trails  into  the  less  accessible  valleys  of  the  mountain- 
ridge  section.  That  there  should  be  men  of  inferior  stamina  and 
ability  among  them  would  seem  inevitable;  but  it  can  by  no  means 
be  claimed  that  as  a  whole  the  later  settlers  were  inferior.  This 
period,  throughout  the  United  States,  has  been  designated  as  one 
of  movement.  All  classes  were  in  motion,  and  at  a  time  when 
isolation  was  a  characteristic  of  frontier  life  it  was  not  easy  for  a 
pioneer  to  foresee  that  choice  of  a  home  in  what  has  now  become  a 
remote  part  of  our  mountain-ridge  section,  would  result  as  the 
years  went  on  in  the  separation  of  the  life  of  his  descendants  from 
that  of  the  greater  part  of  the  state. 

The  poorness  of  mountain  roads  was  probably  not  as  much  a 
deterrent  to  travel  before  1850  as  later.  All  travel  was  difficult. 
In  Kentucky,  until  1830,  there  was  little  difference  except  in  grade 
and  the  likelihood  of  washouts  between  the  mountain  thorough- 
fares and  those  of  the  Bluegrass  region.  The  rapidly  increasing 
population  and  wealth  of  the  Bluegrass,  however,  as  well  as  per- 
haps the  availability  of  good  highway  material,  soon  led  to  the 
establishment  of  macadam  turnpikes  in  that  part  of  the  state.     It 

1  Turner,  Frederick  Jackson:  The  Rise  of  the  New  West,  1819-1829,  in  The 
American  Nation,  a  History,  Vol.  XIV,  p.  100  ff.  New  York,  Harper  Brothers,  1906. 

48 


PIONEER  ROUTES  OF  TRAVEL  AND  EARLY  SETTLEMENTS 

was  during  this  period,  from  1830  to  1850,  that  the  mountain 
country,  left  to  provide  for  itself  in  the  matter  of  roads,  began  to  be 
shut  off  from  the  life  of  the  remainder  of  the  state. ^ 

What  was  true  of  Kentucky  was  probably  true  in  greater  or  less 
degree  of  the  other  states  in  which  the  Highlands  are  situated. 
Road  building  in  the  more  prosperous,  thickly  settled  portions  led 
to  distinctions  between  Lowlands  and  Highlands  and  between  val- 
ley areas  and  mountain-ridge  sections;  and  with  the  gradual  sub-- 
sidence  of  the  streams  of  migration  from  east  to  west  and  the 
separation  of  the  new  frontier  in  the  northwest  and  southwest 
from  the  old  frontier  by  a  belt  of  a  more  advanced  stage  of  develop- 
ment, the  mountains,  especially  the  mountain-ridge  areas,  became 
more  and  more  isolated. 

After  the  middle  of  the  nineteenth  century  no  large  migrations 
passed  into  or  through  the  Southern  Highlands.  Such  movement 
as  there  was  affected  for  the  most  part  the  valley  areas  or  the 
sections  where  industrial  development  was  taking  place.  Individ- 
uals of  course  made  their  way  from  one  section  to  another,  but  the 
composition  of  the  population  remained  on  the  whole  the  same. 

An  intensive  study,  county  by  county,  would  be  necessary  to  de- 
termine accurately  the  date  of  settlement  of  different  areas.  We 
have  been  concerned  with  the  broader  questions  of  early  and  late 
settlement  mainly  as  a  basis  of  discussion  as  to  the  probable  na- 
tionality of  the  ancestors  of  those  now  living  in  the  Southern 
Highlands,  and  to  provide  a  background  for  an  understanding  of 
some  of  the  aspects  of  life  in  the  mountains  today. 

1  Verhoeff,  Mary:  The  Kentucky  Mountains,  Transportation  and  Commerce, 
1750-191 1,  Ch.  IV.     Filson  Club  Publication  No.  26. 


49 


CHAPTER  IV 
ANCESTRY 

THE  given  names  of  pupils  mentioned  in  the  first  chapter 
serve  as  evidence  of  different  things  to  different  people. 
Until  definite  assurance  is  forthcoming  that  they  were  the 
real  names  of  pupils  in  school,  some  may  believe  that  they  bear 
evidence  only  of  vivid  imagination  on  the  part  of  the  writer.  For 
him  history  is  repeating  itself  as  he  recalls  little  red-headed  Alex- 
ander, striving  daily  to  conquer  his  primary  world  with  rocks,  clubs, 
fists,  or  pocket-knife;  or  as  he  sees  again  little  Joseph  as  he  was 
wont  to  watch  him  trudging  to  school  in  a  vivid  polka-dot  waist  of 
many  colors,  which  his  fond  parent  had  gleaned  from  some  mission 
barrel. 

The  frequent  use  of  the  names  of  religious  reformers  and  of 
Biblical  characters  as  given  names  in  sections  of  the  mountains  will 
serve  as  cumulative  evidence  to  those  who  hold  that  the  great 
number  of  religious  names  signed  to  early  petitions  was  proof  of  the 
non-conformist  character  of  mountain  population. 

Momer  and  Virgil  (there  were  two  such  in  our  school)  and  Pliny 
will  be  of  special  interest  to  certain  friends  who  found  copies  of 
Greek  and  Latin  classics  in  mountain  cabins.  The  possessors  of 
the  texts,  it  is  said,  were  unable  to  read  or  write,  but  the  books  bore 
the  signatures  of  ancestors  whose  descendants  held  them  as  pre- 
cious heirlooms.  Milton,  Byron,  and  Shelley,  of  our  list,  will  add 
weight  to  the  contention  that  such  names  are  evidence  of  descent 
from  ancestors  familiar  with  the  classics. 

While  it  is  permissible  to  draw  such  inferences,  the  unexpected 
name  is  more  likely  due  to  the  pressing  necessity  of  parents  in  a 
populous  neighborhood  to  find  an  appellation  distinguishing — not 
necessarily  distinguished,  but  if  so  all  the  better — by  which  to 
designate  the  new  little  one.  This  necessity  would  be  apparent  to 
anyone  who  had  seen  the  dilemma  of  our  postmaster  with  envelope 
in  hand  "backed"  with  the  words  "Jim  Green."     So  numerous 

50 


ANCESTRY 


were  Jim  Greens  in  the  district  that  when  a  rare  letter  came  to  one 
of  them,  the  postmaster  had  three  guesses  as  to  whether  it  was  in- 
tended for  "  Black  Jim,"  "Pink  Jim,"  short  for  Pinckney,  or  "no- 
account  Jim"  Green,  who  might  perhaps  better  have  been  called 
"Red  Jim"  Green  had  his  ruddiness  been  more  pronounced  than 
his  "no-accountness."  Possibly  the  appropriateness  of  "Helio- 
trope" would  have  been  seen  had  our  knowledge  of  Greek  words 
extended  beyond  "  baptizo."  "  No-account "  was  thus  dubbed  from 
his  confirmed  habit  of  letting  his  women-folks  tote  water  and  chop 
wood  on  chilly  mornings,  while  he  turned  ever  toward  the  sun  at 
the  village  store,  about  which  were  congregated  other  sun-worship- 
ing Solons  for  their  daily  session  to  settle  weighty  affairs  of  Church 
and  State. 

Early  release  from  this  necessity  of  finding  distinguishing  names 
was  not  given  to  many.  All  understood,  therefore,  the  relief  in 
Brother  Culpepper's  tones,  as  he  christened  the  child  of  his  old 
age     hmis. 

Conjectures  have  been  many  as  to  the  ancestry  of  the  Southern 
Highlanders.  Some  would  make  their  progenitors  Scottish  chief- 
tains, transplanted  to  the  Highlands  of  the  South,  unchanged,  save 
that  here  they  preferred  the  rifie  to  the  broadsword,  the  hunting- 
knife  to  the  dirk,  the  buckskin  and  homespun  to  the  brighter  hued 
tartan.  Others  find  in  them  the  offspring  of  English  redemptioners 
and  indentured  servants, ^  swept  beyond  the  mountain  ridges  by 
the  swollen  tides  of  immigration  flowing  through  the  valleys  and 
left  to  subside  in  the  hollows  and  grow  stagnant.  In  just  resent- 
ment to  this  claim,  other  theories  more  sane  have  been  put  forth, 
but  often  with  such  extravagance  as  to  make  those  not  of  "illus- 
trious Scotch-Irish  descent"  or  "purest  Anglo-Saxon  lineage" 
shrivel  before  the  effulgence  emanating  from  such  stock. 
'X^lnquiries  of  the  Highlanders  themselves  as  to  family  history  and 
racial  stock  rarely  bring  a  more  definite  answer  than  that  grand- 
parents or  great-grandparents  came  from  North  Carolina  or  Vir- 
ginia, occasionally  from  Pennsylvania,  and  that  they  "reckon" 
their  folks  were  "English,"  "Scotch,"  or  "Irish"— any  of  which 
designations  may  mean  Scotch-Irish— or  "  Dutch,"  which  may  and 
usually  does  mean  German. 

'  See  Appendix  B. 
51 


THE  SOUTHERN  HIGHLANDER 

Some  years  ago  the  writer  found  himself  at  the  noon  hour  in  a 
remote  river  valley  in  the  mountains  of  Kentucky.  Hallooing,  as  is 
the  custom,  at  the  gate  of  a  cabin  which  had  been  pointed  out  as 
"Bill  Campbell's,"  he  was  answered  by  a  fine-looking  gray-haired 
woman  of  sixty. 

"What  might  your  name  be?"  came  the  question;  and  on  his 
giving  answer,  there  followed  the  hearty  welcome, 

"  'Light,  brother,  1  reckon  we're  kin." 

We  were  soon  joined  at  the  hearth  by  her  husband.  In  the  con- 
versation that  followed  it  was  learned  that  there  were  forty  or  more 
families  of  Campbells  in  that  particular  bend  of  the  river,  none 
having  less  than  six  and  some  as  many  as  twelve  children.  Because 
of  the  prevalence  of  the  name,  the  district  was  known  as  Camp- 
bell's District.  There  were  several  hundred  in  the  county,  and  as 
many  more  in  the  adjoining  county. 

The  ancestors  of  those  whom  the  cabin  sheltered  had  left  North 
Carolina  nearly  a  hundred  years  before.  The  father  of  our  host, 
still  living  in  the  neighborhood,  was  but  a  lad  of  nine  at  the  time. 
There  was  a  family  tradition  that  one  of  the  maternal  ancestors, 
the  great-great-grandmother,  had  come  from  Scotland  and  had 
lived  to  see  five  generations  of  descendants. 

Great  interest  was  manifested  in  the  guest's  given  name,  the 
name  of  his  father,  brother,  and  kinsmen,  and  he  wrote  them  down 
upon  request  in  order  that  they  might  be  used  as  occasion  arose. 
Doubtless  some  student  of  genealogy,  coming  some  day  upon  these 
future  Gavins,  Archibalds,  and  Colins,  will  cite  them  as  evidence  of 
pure  Scotch  ancestry,  confirmed  by  the  tradition  o':  the  maternal 
grandmother.  The  tradition,  however,  failed  to  give  satisfactory 
evidence  as  to  just  who  these  Campbells  were,  whether  connected 
with  the  Highland  Campbell  >  of  the  lower  Piedmont,  with  the 
Scotch- Irish  Campbells  of  the  upper  Piedmont  of  North  Carolina, 
orwhether  they  might  not  even  have  been  of  Lowland  Scotch  blood. 
Some  belonged  undoubtedly  to  the  large  clan  of  Campbells  in  east 
Tennessee  and  southwest  Virginia,  among  whom  is  a  tradition  of 
direct  migration  from  the  north  of  Ireland. 

If  one  turns  to  history  for  the  source  of  Highland  descent  he  is 
again  on  uncertain  ground.  We  have  seen  that  the  population  of 
the  Highlands  was  derived  in  the  main  from  a  series  of  migrations 

52 


ANCESTRY 


which  came  to  a  close  about  1850,  and  that  the  migrations  preced- 
ing 1800  differed  in  origin  from  those  of  the  succeeding  fifty  years. 
To  ascertain,  however,  the  proportionate  elements  of  the  various 
races  in  the  movements  of  these  two  periods  is  less  easy,  and  there 
is  the  further  question  as  to  whether  the  people  now  living  in  the 
mountains  are  to  any  extent  descendants  of  the  earlier  settlers, 
or  have  come,  in  great  degree,  from  the  later  movements. 

The  sources  of  the  early  migrations  through  the  Highlands  were, 
it  will  be  recalled,  the  three  reservoirs  lying  one  in  central,  one  in 
western  Pennsylvania,  and  the  third  in  the  Carolina  Piedmont. 
Turning  to  these  in  the  order  of  their  formation  for  data  which 
will  be  of  service  in  determining  the  racial  elements  in  the  streams 
which  proceeded  from  them,  we  are  confronted  at  the  outset  with 
obstacles.  While  it  has  been  generally  claimed  by  historians  that 
the  dominant  race  along  the  whole  early  frontier  was  the  Scotch- 
Irish,  not  only  is  there  dispute  as  to  the  relative  proportions  of 
Scotch-Irish  and  Germans  in  the  central  Pennsylvania  reservoir, 
but  the  significance  of  the  term  Scotch-Irish  is  questioned.^ 

It  has  been  contended  that  the  so-called  Scotch-Irish  were  not 
in  fact  a  people  distinct  in  blood,  but  were  so  designated  merely 
to  distinguish  their  geographical  location;  and  that  those  thus  dis- 
tinguished ought  properly,  on  the  basis  of  racial  stock,  to  be  classed 
as  Lowland  Scotch  and  north  of  England  folk.  The  question  of 
the  racial  classification  of  the  Scotch-Irish,  Ulster  Scotch,  or  Pres- 
byterian Irish,  is  of  great  interest  but  cannot  be  discussed  here  in 
detail.-  That  there  was  a  people  from  the  north  of  Ireland  strongly 
influencing  pioneer  westward  movements,  is  indisputable;  and 
tradition  and  historical  evidence  point  to  their  presence  in  large 
numbers  on  the  frontiers  of  Pennsylvania  during  the  second  and 
third  quarters  of  the  eighteenth  century.     When,  however,  we 

'  Lodge  classifies  the  Scotch-Irish  as  a  distinct  race  stock.  In  reply  to  criticism 
he  said:  "I  classified  the  Irish  and  the  Scotch-Irish  as  two  distinct  race  stocks, 
and  1  believe  the  distinction  to  be  a  sound  one  historically  and  scientifically.  .  .  . 
The  Scotch-Irish  from  the  north  of  Ireland,  Protestant  in  religion,  and  chiefly 
Scotch  and  English  in  blood  and  name,  came  to  this  country  in  large  numbers  in 
the  i8th  centurv:  while  the  people  of  pure  Irish  stock  came  scarcely  at  all  during 
the  colonial  period,  and  did  not  emigrate  here  largely  until  the  present  century  was 
well  advanced."— Lodge,  Henry  Cabot:  The  Distribution  of  .Ability  in  the  United 
States,  Century  Magazine,  Sept.,  1891. 
2  See  note  by  Commons,  Appendix  D. 

53 


THE  SOUTHERN  HIGHLANDER 

endeavor  to  get  an  estimate  of  their  numbers,  we  are  met  with 
further  difficulties. 

While  enumerations  more  or  less  accurate  were  made  of  the  popu- 
lation of  some  of  the  colonies  during  the  colonial  period,  no  thor- 
ough enumerations  were  attempted  either  in  the  colonial  or  con- 
tinental periods  in  Pennsylvania  or  the  Carolinas.  An  estimate 
of  the  entire  population  of  the  United  States,  generally  considered 
by  historians  too  high,^  was  made  by  the  Continental  Congress  in 
1776  as  a  basis  for  apportioning  war  expenses,  but  it  was  not  until 
1790  that  a  census  was  undertaken.  To  determine  the  racial  ele- 
ments of  this  population,  or  more  accurately,  to  determine  what 
may  be  termed  "nationality  strain,"  the  compilers  of  A  Century 
of  Population  Growth-  have  endeavored  to  classify  the  names  of 
heads  of  families  as  they  appear  upon  the  existing  schedules  of  the 
census  of  1790,  on  the  basis  of  name  studies.  The  headings  under 
which  the  groups  were  entered  were  English  and  Welsh,  Scotch, 
Irish,  Dutch,  French,  German,  Hebrew,  and  "all  others."^  There 
was  no  attempt  to  classify  the  Scotch-Irish. 

Those  who  hold  that  the  Scotch-Irish  were  a  distinct  racial  stock 
will  see  a  very  evident  flaw  in  this  classification;  and  all  will  see 
difficulties  besetting  one  who  seeks  to  determine  how  many  of  the 
original  settlers  of  the  mountains  came  from  England  or  were  of 
pure  English  descent,  and  how  many  were  from  the  north  of  Ire- 
land; however,  they  miay  be  classed  ethnologically.  Not  only  are 
many  names  found  in  the  mountains  common  to  both  countries — 
such  as  Moore,  Collins,  Mitchell,  Gillespie,  and  Morrow — but 
others,  not  of  Irish  orgin — White,  Rice,  Reed,  Carr,  Allen,  Berry, 
Henry,  and  Morris — have  been  common  in  Ireland  for  generations. 

*  See  Appendix  D. 

*  A  Century  of  Population  Growth,  from  the  First  Census  of  the  United  States 
to  the  Twelfth,  1790-1900.     Washington,  Government,  1909. 

^  Thus,  when  in  our  central  Pennsylvania  reservoir  we  seek  to  determine  the 
proportions  of  Scotch-Irish  and  Germans,  through  the  returns  of  the  census  of  1790, 
we  can  only  compare  the  German  population  with  that  of  the  English,  Welsh, 
Scotch,  and  Irish  combined.  Or,  similarly,  when  we  seek  to  determine  for  the  same 
date  the  racial  elements  in  what  was  then  known  as  the  Morgan  District  of  North 
Carolina — the  district  including  the  then  counties  of  Burke,  Lincoln,  Rutherford, 
and  Wilkes,  from  which  a  large  part  of  the  present  mountain  counties  of  western 
North  Carolina  were  formed — out  of  a  total  of  30,687  inhabitants  we  find  that 
24,405  are  listed  as  English  and  Welsh;  3,560  Scotch;  730  Irish;  47  Dutch;  31 
French;   1,884  Germans;  and  30  "all  others." 

54 


ANCESTRY 

These  latter  were  without  doubt  classed  usually  by  the  census 
bureau  of  1790  as  English,  as  they  were  obviously  of  Anglo-Saxon 
heritage;  yet  when  they  are  given  in  the  last  years  of  the  eigh- 
teenth century  as  names  of  emigrants  from  sections  strongly 
Scotch-Irish,  so-called,  or  when  they  are  borne  at  the  present  day 
by  people  who  lay  claim  to  Scotch-Irish  descent,  the  quandary  of 
the  investigator  is  obvious.  The  name,  with  the  added  evidence 
of  family  tradition,  is  in  one  instance  Scotch-Irish;  yet  without 
that  evidence  the  conclusion  is  not  warranted  that  all  other  families 
of  that  name  are  Scotch-Irish. 

Roosevelt,  in  the  Winning  of  the  West,  pays  a  high  tribute  to 
the  Presbyterian  Irish  as  the  "vanguard  of  the  army  of  fighting 
settlers,  who  with  axe  and  rifle  won  their  way  from  the  AUeghenies 
to  the  Rio  Grande  and  the  Pacific. "^  He  holds  that  they  were  a 
mixed  people,  descended  from  Scotch  ancestors,  originally  from 
both  Highlands  and  Lowlands,  from  among  Scotch  Saxons  and 
Scotch  Celts,  with  a  few  French  Huguenots  among  them  and  quite 
a  number  of  true  old  Milesian  Irish  extraction.  "Of  course,"  he 
adds,  "  generations  before  they  ever  came  to  America,  the  McAfees, 
McClungs,  Campbells,  McCoshes,  etc.,  had  become  indistinguish- 
able from  the  Todds,  Armstrongs,  Elliotts,  and  the  like."-  The 
corruption  of  Scotch  and  Welsh  names,  MacGregor  to  Gudger  or 
Greear,  Stephenson  to  Stinnert,  Applewhaite  to  Applegate,  and  the 
translation  and  Anglicization  of  foreign  names,  Coontz  to  Coots, 
Gehrheart  to  Gayheart,  Beber  to  Beaver,  Rees  to  Rice,  Ammon  to 
Hammond,  Schwartz  to  Black,  Zimmerman  to  Carpenter,  DeLisle 
to  Dials,  Cartier  to  Carter,  are  additional  and  potent  sources  of 
confusion.  Bishop,  for  example,  may  be  Scotch-Irish,  English,  or 
German. 

In  the  absence  of  definite  numerical  data  as  to  elements  of  popu- 
lation, we  must  rely  upon  tradition  and  historical  evidence,  and 
upon  the  conclusions  of  historians.  Faust,  historian  of  the  Ger- 
mans, and  Hanna,  historian  of  the  Scotch-Irish,  have  made  care- 
ful computations  of  the  numbers  of  their  respective  peoples. ^ 
According  to  their  estimates,  the  numbers  of  Scotch-Irish  and  Ger- 

1  Roosevelt,  Theodore:  The  Winning  of  the  West,  Vol.  1,  p.  134.  New  York, 
G.  P.  Putman's  Sons,  1900.  -  Ibid.,  Vol.   1,  p.  135,  note   2. 

'  Faust,  Albert  Bernhardt:  The  German  Element  in  the  United  States.  Also 
Hanna,  Charles  A.:  The  Scotch-Irish.    For  fuller  reference  see  Appendix  D. 

55 


THE  SOUTHERN  HIGHLANDER 

mans  in  Pennsylvania  were  approximately  the  same.     Each  race 
formed  about  one-third  of  the  population  of  Pennsylvania. 

By  an  examination  of  six  frontier  colonies  of  Pennsylvania,  in, 
which  lay  our  central  reservoir — Berks,  Lancaster,  York,  Dauphin, 
Cumberland,  and  Franklin — we  fmd  that  in  all  but  Berks  the  com- 
bined English,  Welsh,  Scotch,  and  Irish  in  1790  far  outnumbered 
the  Germans.  In  York  they  were  one-fifth  more  numerous,  while 
in  Franklin  and  Cumberland  Counties,  from  which  the  tide  that 
had  been  moving  westward  first  turned  to  the  south,  they  out- 
numbered the  Germans  from  three  to  seven  times.  It  would  seem, 
therefore,  in  the  absence  of  any  census  classification  of  peoples  from 
the  north  of  Ireland,  and  with  the  probability  that  many  from  that 
country  were  classed  by  the  census  as  English,  together  with  the 
strong  tradition  as  to  the  large  numbers  of  Scotch-Irish  in  this 
region,  we  are  probably  justified  in  holding  that  in  our  central 
Pennsylvania  reservoir  the  north  of  Ireland  folk  exceeded  the  Ger- 
mans. This  assumption  is  strengthened  by  a  comparison  of  the 
numbers  of  Germans  and  Scotch-Irish  in  the  Valley  of  Virginia. 

This  region,  the  earliest  settled  within  the  Southern  Highlands,^ 
received  the  first  overflow  from  Pennsylvania.  Tidewater  Virginia 
was  in  large  part  English,  and  while  from  early  times  pioneers  did 
fmd  their  way  up  the  rivers  to  the  Piedmont  region,  and  later 
across  the  Blue  Ridge,  the  movement  from  the  coast  did  not  assume 
large  proportions  until  the  nineteenth  century.  There  was  a  small 
English  colony  in  Clark  County,  and  undoubtedly  many  scattered 
English,  Huguenots,  and  some  of  other  nationalities  among  the 
Valley  people.  As  a  whole,  however,  the  population  of  the  Valley 
was  overwhelmingly  Scotch-Irish  and  German,  the  Germans  pre- 
dominating in  the  lower  or  northern  part,  and  the  Scotch-Irish  in 
the  southern  or  upper  part.  That  the  bulk  of  these  two  races  in 
Virginia,  as  in  Pennsylvania,  was  on  the  frontier,  and  that  the 
Valley  population  was  for  many  years  distinct  from  that  of  the 
eastern  part  of  the  state,  is  generally  agreed  by  historians.  There- 
fore when  Hanna  claims  that  there  were  75,000  Scotch-Irish  in  the 
state  of  Virginia  in  1775,  and  Faust  for  the  same  date  claims  25,000 

1  Most  historians,  even  Hanna  (Vol.  II,  p.  45)  say  that  the  earliest  permanent 
settlements  in  the  Valley  (probably  about  1726  in  Jefferson  County)  were  by  Ger- 
man immigrants. 

56 


ANCESTRY 

Germans,  it  would  seem  to  indicate,  if  these  estimates  are  approx- 
imately correct,  a  predominance  of  Scotch-Irish  in  the  Valley. 

"The  development  of  the  frontiers  of  Virginia  was  not  de- 
pendent on  the  tidewater  gentry,  and  their  inferior  servitors," 
writes  Justin  Winsor,  "but  rather  upon  the  virile  folk,  particu- 
larly the  Scotch-Irish,  who  had  brought  the  Valley  of  Virginia 
into  subjection,  and  were  now  adding  to  their  strength  by  an 
immigration  from  Maryland,  Pennsylvania,  and  north  Virginia. 
These,  crossing  the  divide  by  Braddock's  road,  were  pushing 
down  the  Monongahela,  and  so  on  to  the  Ohio  country.  They 
carried  with  them  all  that  excitable  and  determined  character 
which  goes  with  a  keen-minded  adherence  to  original  sin,  total 
depravity,  predestination,  and  election,  and  saw  no  use  in  an 
Indian  but  to  be  a  target  for  their  bullets."^ 

That  the  Scotch-Irish  were  in  the  ascendancy  in  the  second 
Pennsylvania  reservoir  about  Pittsburgh,  to  which  reference  is 
made  in  the  quotation  above,  seems  to  be  more  generally  accepted. 
For  estimates  here  as  to  the  numerical  proportions  of  Scotch-Irish 
and  Germans  we  can  use  only  the  same  method  of  deduction  as 
was  used  in  the  case  of  the  central  reservoir,  which  contributed  so 
largely  to  its  formation.  In  the  four  counties  of  Westmoreland, 
Fayette,  Washington,  and  Allegheny,  which  in  1790  covered  much 
of  the  western  part  of  the  state,  the  English,  Welsh,  Scotch,  and 
1  rish  combined  outnumbered  the  Germans  twenty-one  to  six.  Fur- 
thermore, it  may  be  noted  that  here  as  in  the  central  reservoir,  the 
proportion  of  English,  Welsh,  Scotch,  and  Irish  is  largest  in  the 
counties  farthest  on  the  frontier. 

It  will  be  recalled  that  the  third  reservoir,  that  in  the  Piedmont 
of  the  Carolinas,  was  fed  from  a  number  of  sources,  the  main  stream 
flowing  from  Pennsylvania  through  the  Valley  of  Virginia,  while 
lesser  streams  issued  from  the  ports  of  Charleston  and  Wilmington. 
The  ethnic  strains  in  these  various  tides  were  the  same,  save  that 
in  the  southern  currents  there  was  a  greater  representation,  rela- 
tively, of  Highland  Scotch-  and    French  Huguenots.     The  pre- 

'  Winsor,  Justin:  The  Westward  Movement,  p.  12.  Boston,  Houghton,  Mifflin 
and  Co.,  1897. 

-  There  were  large  settlements  of  the  Highland  Scotch  in  the  lower  Piedmont  of 
North  Carolina.  One  of  these  was  in  Cumberland  County,  of  which  the  county- 
seat,  Fayetteville,  was  formerly  called  Campbelltown.  To  this  settlement  came 
Flora  MacDonald,  about  whose  name  cluster  so  many  romantic  tales.  Wheeler 
gives  an  interesting  account  of  her  assistance  to  the  "  Pretender,"  Charles  Edward, 

57 


THE  SOUTHERN  HIGHLANDER 

ponderant  races  early  on  this  frontier  then,  were,  as  might  be  ex- 
pected, Scotch-Irish  and  German,  and  if  tradition  and  historical 
estimates^  may  be  trusted,  here,  too,  the  Scotch- Irish  were  in  the 
ascendancy.  There  is  likelihood,  however,  that  there  was  a  greater 
admixture  of  races  in  this  than  in  the  other  reservoirs.  In  addition 
to  the  French  Huguenot  and  Scotch  Highlander  elements,  the  reser- 
voir probably  contained  proportionately  more  English,  who  had 
worked  their  way  from  the  Virginia  Tidewater  through  the  Vir- 
ginia Piedmont  and  lowland  North  Carolina  to  the  Carolina  Pied- 
mont. Hunters,  traders,  and  cattle  raisers  had  begun  this  move- 
ment in  early  times,  and  even  before  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth 
century  there  were  scattered  settlers  among  the  Carolina  foothills, 
drawn  by  the  fine  pastures,  clear  streams,  and  cooler  climate.  Such 
stragglers  from  the  coast  contributed  their  quota  to  the  race  amal- 
gam, but  they  were  swallowed  up  in  the  greater  streams  just 
described,  which  began  to  flood  the  Piedmont  region  about  1750. 
Here,  as  in  Pennsylvania  and  Virginia,  the  frontier  settlements 
were  for  some  time  distinct  from  the  older  eastern  settlements  in 
race,  religion,  and  democratic  tendencies. 

"Thus  it  happened,"  writes  Frederick  Jackson  Turner  in  The 
Old  West,  "that  from  about  1730  to  1760  a  generation  of  settlers 
poured  along  this  mountain  trough  into  the  southern  uplands,  or 
Piedmont,  creating  a  new  continuous  social  and  economic  area, 

after  the  Battle  of  Culloden,  aiding  iiim,  disguised  as  her  waiting-maid,  to  escape 
through  many  dangers  to  France,  of  her  subsequent  arrest  by  George  the  Second, 
and  her  acquittal  because  of  her  youth,  kindness  of  heart,  and  ready  wit;  of  her 
marriage  to  her  kinsman  Allan   MacDonald,  and   their  emigration  to  America  in 

1775- 

It  will  be  recalled  that  the  Highlanders  were  pardoned  after  the  Battle  of  Cul- 
loden upon  the  condition  that  they  take  the  oath  of  allegiance,  and  emigrate. 
Generally  they  felt  so  strictly  bound  by  this  oath  that  they  became  Tories.  The 
chief  of  the  MacDonald  clan  in  America  accepted  a  commission  under  the  British, 
and  marshalled  the  loyal  Highlanders  of  North  Carolina  under  the  Scottish  pibroch 
to  unite  with  the  English  bugles.  They  suffered  hard  defeat  at  the  hands  of  the 
rebels,  and  Allan  MacDonald  was  imprisoned  for  a  time.  After  the  Revolution, 
"broken  down  in  hopes,  with  property  plundered,  and  lands  confiscated,  he  and 
Flora  returned  to  Scotland.  Flora  is  said  to  have  remarked,  'I  have  hazarded  my 
life  for  the  house  of  Stuart  and  for  the  house  of  Hanover,  and  i  do  not  see  that 
I  am  the  great  gainer  by  either.'  Her  shroud  was  made  of  the  sheets  in  which 
Charles  Edward  had  slept  at  Kingsburg  (her  home  in  Scotland)  which  with  woman's 
romantic  temper  she  had  preserved  in  all  her  wanderings  for  this  express  purpose." — 
Wheeler,  John  H.:  Historical  Sketches  of  North  Carolina,  1 584-1851,  pp.  126-128. 
Philadelphia,  Lippincott,  Grambo,  and  Co.,  1851. 

1  There  were,  according  to  Hanna,  110,000  Scotch-Irish  in  the  Carolinas  at  the 
opening  of  the  Revolution;  and  according  to  Faust,  23,000  Germans. 

.    58 


ANCESTRY 

which  cut  across  the  artificial  colonial  boundary  lines,  disar- 
ranged the  regular  extension  of  local  government  from  the  coast 
westward,  and  built  up  a  new  Pennsylvania  in  contrast  with  the 
old  Quaker  colonies,  and  a  new  South  in  contrast  with  the  tide- 
water South. 

"Among  this  moving  mass,  as  it  passed  along  the  Valley  into 
the  Piedmont,  in  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth  century,  were 
Daniel  Boone,  John  Sevier,  James  Robertson,  and  the  ancestors 
of  John  C.  Calhoun,  Abraham  Lincoln,  Jefferson  Davis,  Stone- 
wall Jackson,  James  K.  Polk,  Sam  Houston,  and  Davy  Crockett; 
while  the  father  of  Andrew  Jackson  came  to  the  Carolina  Pied- 
mont at  the  same  time  from  the  coast.  Recalling  that  Thomas 
Jefferson's  home  was  in  this  frontier,  at  the  edge  of  the  Blue 
Ridge,  we  perceive  that  these  names  represent  the  militant  ex- 
pansive movement  in  American  life.  They  foretell  the  settle- 
ment across  the  Alleghenies  in  Kentucky  and  Tennessee;  the 
Louisiana  Purchase,  and  Lewis  and  Clark's  transcontinental  ex- 
ploration; the  conquest  of  the  Gulf  Plains  in  the  War  of  1812-15; 
the  annexation  of  Texas;  the  acquisition  of  California  and  the 
Spanish  Southwest.  They  represent,  too,  frontier  democracy 
in  its  two  aspects  personified  in  Andrew  Jackson  and  Abraham 
Lincoln.  It  was  a  democracy  responsive  to  leadership,  suscepti- 
ble to  waves  of  emotion,  of  a  'high  religious  voltage' — quick  and 
direct  in  action."^ 

From  the  Carolina  Piedmont  a  small  stream  had  found  its  way 
to  the  west  before  the  Revolution  to  meet  another  stream  which  had 
just  begun  to  cross  the  New  River  Divide  in  southwestern  Virginia. 
Joining  in  the  Greater  Appalachian  Valley  in  northeastern  Tennes- 
see, these  forerunners  of  the  tide  which  ten  years  later  was  to  sweep 
thousands  through  this  region  on  their  way  to  the  lands  beyond  the 
mountains,  formed  the  settlements  which  were  bound  together  in 
the  Watauga  Association.  That  the  Watauga  colonists  were 
largely  Scotch-Irish  has  been  generally  accepted,  and  in  view  of  the 
fact  that  the  areas  from  which  they  came  were  so  largely  occupied 
by  this  race,2  the  belief  seems  justified.    It  is,  however,  interesting 

^  Turner,  Frederick  Jackson:  "The  Old  West,"  in  Proceedings  of  the  State  His- 
torical Society  of  Wisconsin  at  its  56th  Annual  Meeting,  1908,  pp.  212,217.  Madi- 
son, Wis.,  1909. 

'There  is  an  admission  on  the  part  of  Faust  that  the  Scotch-Irish  were  in  the 
ascendancy  in  the  upper  Valley  of  Virginia,  although  he  says  that  there  were  more 
Germans  on  the  southern  slope  of  the  valley  than  is  generally  supposed.  He  also 
states  that  the  Scotch-Irish  were  farthest  toward  the  frontier  in  the  Carolina  Pied- 
mont, adding  that  the  Germans  were  close  upon  their  heels. 

^  59 


THE  SOUTHERN  HIGHLANDER 

to  note,  in  this  connection,  the  variety  in  stock  as  shown  in  the 
leaders,  most  of  them  American  born.  For  example,  while  Robert- 
son was  of  Scotch-Irish  parentage,  Sevier,^  who  like  him  came  from 
the  Valley  of  Virginia  through  the  North  Carolina  Piedmont  to 
Tennessee,  was  of  French  Huguenot  and  English  ancestry;  and 
the  Shelbys,  from  Maryland,  were  of  Welsh  extraction.^  The 
original  settler  of  the  Watauga,  William  Bean,  is  said  to  have  been 
English. 

As  if  to  offset  this  preponderance  of  other  strains,  a  German 
claim  has  been  advanced  that  the  most  famous  of  all  figures  on  the 
frontier,  Boone,  was  of  German  descent.  His  name,  ending  in  "e" 
and  so  like  the  common  German  name  Bohne,  is  oflFered  as  an 
argument;  and  as  further  evidence,  are  cited  his  birth  in  a  Penn- 
sylvania county  where  there  were  many  Germans  and  his  ability  to 
speak  German  fluently.  His  biographers,  however,  say  that  he 
was  of  English  and  Welsh  Quaker  extraction.^ 

By  the  close  of  the  Revolution  the  three  reservoirs  already  over- 
flowing were  freed  from  restraint,  and  the  streams  which  issued 
from  them  poured  through  the  Southern  Highlands  and  along  their 
northern  boundaries.     That  in  these  migrations,  which  covered 

^  "Sevier,  or  'Nolichucky  Jack'  as  he  was  called,  was  in  thirty-five  fights,  and 
was  always  victorious.  His  tactics  were  simple.  He  moved  with  such  celerity  as 
to  be  always  the  herald  of  his  own  coming.  Then  he  dashed  on  the  Indians,  over- 
whelming and  dismaying  them  by  the  impetuosity  of  the  charge.  It  was  the  rush 
of  the  tempest.  All  was  over  in  a  few  minutes.  Some  of  his  expeditions  into  the 
Indian  country  rival  the  tales  of  romance.  Roosevelt  states  that  Sevier  was  the 
first  and  greatest  of  all  the  Indian  fighters  of  the  west." — Temple,  Oliver  Perry: 
John  Sevier,  Knoxville,  Tenn.,  the  Zl-PO  Press,  1910. 

2  General  Evan  Shelby,  a  Welshman  by  birth,  settled  in  Maryland  about  1750, 
and  afterwards  became  a  leader  in  the  Watauga  Settlement.  His  son  Isaac,  born 
in  Ma:ryland,  was  the  most  famous  member  of  that  pioneer  family.  Isaac  Shelby 
was  successively  in  skirmishes  with  the  Indians,  surveyor  in  the  "dark  and  bloody 
ground"  of  Kentucky,  active  in  the  Treaty  of  Long  Island  with  the  Indians,  and 
Major  and  later  Colonel  in  the  Continental  Army,  where,  at  the  head  of  several 
hundred  mounted  riflemen  from  the  frontier,  he  won  a  number  of  noteworthy  en- 
gagements with  the  British.  After  the  Revolution  he  made  his  home  in  Kentucky, 
where  he  took  an  active  part  in  the  organization  of  the  state  and  became  its  first 
Governor.  Wheeler  says,  his  was  "the  first  pre-emption  and  settlement  granted  in 
Kentucky,  and  it  is  a  remarkable  fact  that  at  his  death  he  was  the  only  person  who 
occupied  his  original  pre-emption." — Wheeler,  John  H.:  Historical  Sketches  of 
North  Carolina,  i  584-1851,  pp.  98-103. 

'  "His  mother  was  the  daughter  of  an  unassuming  Welsh-Quaker,  John  Morgan. 
His  father,  who  bore  the  odd  name  of  Squire,  was  an  Englishman  by  birth,  a  native 
of  the  obscure  Devonshire  village  of  Bradninch."- — Bruce,  H.  A.  B.:  Daniel  Boone 
and  the  Wilderness  Road,  p.  2.     New  York,  The  Macmillan  Company,  1910. 

60 


ANCESTRY 

approximately  a  period  of  twenty  years,  from  1780  to  1800,  the 
Scotch-Irish  would  predominate,  would  naturally  be  inferred;  as 
well  as  that  they  would  be  more  numerous  in  the  settlements  made 
at  this  time  in  the  Highlands. 

Referring  to  a  list  of  4,000  or  more  names  attached  to  petitions 
addressed  by  early  inhabitants  of  Kentucky  to  the  General  Assem- 
bly of  Virginia,  James  R.  Robertson  makes  this  interesting  state- 
ment: 

The  list  of  names  is  important  for  two  main  reasons;  first,  it 
throws  light  on  the  racial  composition  of  the  early  population  of 
Kentucky,  and  second,  it  is  of  use  for  the  student  of  genealogy. 

The  earlier  petitions  show  a  decided  preponderance  of  Scotch 
and  Scotch-1  rish  names  with  a  large  number  of  English  and  a  few 
German,  Dutch,  and  French.  The  number  of  English  names  in- 
creases in  the  later  petitions.  The  large  number  of  religious 
names  indicates  the  non-conformist  character  of  much  of  the 
population. 

While  the  list  will  not  give  much  detail  to  aid  the  genealogist, 
it  fixes  the  existence  of  a  certain  name  in  a  locality  at  an  early 
period  and  thus  gives  a  clue  that  may  be  followed  further. ^ 

While  it  is  not  likely  that  many  of  these  Kentucky  petitioners 
were  living  at  that  time  in  the  mountain  section  of  the  state,  it  is 
to  be  noted  that  they  had  come  of  necessity  by  routes  leading  them 
through  the  mountains,  or  by  the  Ohio  River,  and  from  one  of  the 
reservoirs  described.  The  large  increase  of  English  names  in  the 
later  petitions  is  an  indication,  we  believe,  of  what  was  taking 
place  toward  the  end  of  this  period  in  the  streams  of  migration 
flowing  to  and  from  these  reservoirs — a  much  larger  admixture  of 
English.  "There  was  possibly,"  says  Winsor  cautiously,  writing  of 
conditions  in  1790,  "a  preponderance  of  English  blood  in  all  these 
diversified  currents,  but  the  Scotch-Irish  and  the  Germans  were 
numerous  enough  to  give  a  strengthening  fiber  in  this  mingling  of 
ethnic  strains. "- 

The  question,  therefore,  which  in  final  analysis  confronts  the 
investigator,  is  not  as  to  which  of  the  two  elements,  Scotch- Irish  or 

1  Robertson,  James  Rood:  Petitions  of  the  Early  Inhabitants  of  Kentucky  to 
the  General  .Assembly  of  Virginia,  1769  to  1792,  pp.  3»-32-  Filson  Club  Publica- 
tion No.  27.     LouisN  ille,  Ky.,  John  P.  .Morton  and  Co. 

-  Winsor,  Justin:  The  Westward  Movement,  p.  400.  Boston,  Houghton,  Mifflin 
and  Co.,  1897. 

61 


THE  SOUTHERN  HIGHLANDER 

German,  was  strongest  in  the  mountain  settlements  made  during  the 
latter  part  of  the  eighteenth  century,  but  as  to  what  were  the  relative 
proportions  of  the  Scotch-Irish  and  English  in  these  settlements. 

The  growing  prominence  of  the  English  on  the  frontier  is  in- 
creasingly marked  in  the  next  fifty  years,  during  which  migrations 
through  the  mountains  came  from  less  distinctively  Scotch-Irish 
areas,  and  more  from  the  lowland  and  English  sections  of  the  South. 
As  has  been  seen,  the  settlement  of  the  mountain-ridge  section  was 
contemporaneous  with  these  later  movements.  That  the  stock 
which  settled  the  mountain-ridge  areas  differed  substantially  from 
that  which  earlier  settled  the  valley  areas  has  not  been  proved.  An 
intensive  study,  such  as  was  suggested  in  the  last  chapter,  would  be 
necessary  to  determine  not  only  the  time  of  settlement  of  different 
areas  but  the  composition  of  population  within  them.  We  have 
been  able  merely  to  indicate  in  a  general  way  the  races  prominent 
in  the  movements  of  the  two  periods.  It  still  remains  for  us  to  find 
whether  the  people  living  in  the  Highlands  today  are  to  any  great 
extent  descendants  of  early  settlers,  in  order  to  arrive,  if  possible, 
at  some  conclusions  as  to  race  and  stock. 

To  this  end  some  years  ago  a  careful  study^  was  made  of  i  ,200  or 
more  mountain  surnames  with  a  view  to  ascertaining  the  length 
of  residence  in  the  mountains  and  the  racial  stock  of  those  who 
bore  them.  Only  names  common  in  a  neighborhood  and  held  by 
old  inhabitants  to  be  representative  were  included.  Of  those 
selected  360  were  of  families  living  in  Kentucky,  497  in  North  Caro- 
lina, 228  in  Tennessee,  and  182  in  Georgia.  The  remainder,  too 
inconsiderable  a  number  to  warrant  the  drawing  of  any  conclusions 
as  to  early  settlement  or  predominant  stock,  were  from  South  Caro- 
lina and  Alabama.  These  names  were  compared  with  names  of 
heads  of  families  quoted  in  the  United  States  census  of  1790;-  with 
Revolutionary  War  pension  lists  (Act  of  1832),  in  which  all  veterans 
drawing  pensions  were  enrolled''  and  their  residence  at  that  time 

1  Part  of  a  study  on  mountain  settlement  and  ancestry  made  for  the  writer  by 
Ruth  Dame  Coolidge. 

2  The  census  returns  of  1 790  for  Virginia,  Georgia  (including  Alabama  and  Missis- 
sippi), Kentucky,  and  Southwest  Territory  (Tennessee)  have  been  lost.  The  Vir- 
ginia returns,  however,  are  replaced  in  some  measure  by  lists  of  inhabitants  at  state 
enumerations  made  near  the  close  of  the  Revolution. 

^  These  included  also  a  few  veterans  of  the  Indian  Wars  subsequent  to  the  Revo- 
lution, and  of  the  War  of  1812. 

62 


ANCESTRY 

given,  as  well  as  the  state  in  which  they  had  originally  served;  early 
lists  of  settlers,  some  with  nationality  indicated;  and  with  numerous 
other  sources,'  such  as  state  histories,  journals  of  travelers,  and 
records  of  churches  and  historical  societies. 

This  study  of  names  was  supplemented  whenever  possible  by 
actual  historical  evidence  and  by  the  tradition  of  the  people  them- 
selves. As  examples,  may  be  cited  the  cases  of  two  families — the 
Westmorelands  of  White  County,  Georgia,  and  the  Benges,  a 
family  very  numerous  in  Clay  County,  Kentucky.  Tradition  says 
that  three  Westmoreland  brothers  came  from  England  to  Virginia 
in  the  eighteenth  century,  one  settling  in  Virginia,  one  in  North 
Carolina,  and  the  third  in  South  Carolina.  This  is  confirmed  by 
the  census  of  1790,  which  places  Westmorelands  in  1782  in  Meck- 
lenburg County,  Virginia,  in  1790  in  Stokes  and  Orange  Counties, 
North  Carolina  (in  a  southwesterly  direction  from  Mecklenburg), 
and  in  1790  in  Spartanburg  County,  South  Carolina  (almost  pre- 
cisely a  continuation  of  the  diagonal  line  from  Mecklenburg 
through  Stokes).  Conjecture  that  the  Georgia  family  came  from 
this  same  stock,  based  on  tradition  and  supported  by  sound  data, 
is  therefore  reasonable. 

The  Benge  family  claim  that  they  are  of  German  extraction  and 
descended  from  a  David  Benge  of  Revolutionary  fame,  who  came 
into  that  region  from  North  Carolina.  The  Revolutionary  War 
pension  lists  of  Kentucky  show  one  John  Benge  to  have  been  living 
in  Clay  County  in  1832,  having  served  with  the  North  Carolina 
militia.  There  is  no  record  of  any  of  the  name  in  North  or  South 
Carolina  on  the  Revolutionary  War  pension  lists  of  those  states 
nor  in  the  census  of  1790,  but  the  census  does  show  Benges  present 
in  Albemarle  County,  Virginia,  in  1790.  It  therefore  seems  prob- 
able that  the  family  came  to  Kentucky  from  Virginia  by  way  of 
North  Carolina,  and  it  is  of  course  possible  that  through  some  con- 
fusion in  first  names,  either  in  tradition  or  in  the  pension  lists,  John 
and  David  were  the  same  person,  it  is  also  possible  that  one  or 
both  may  have  been  Virginians  who  served  with  the  North  Caro- 
lina militia,  as  the  pension  lists  in  such  cases  do  not  indicate  the 
state  from  which  the  veteran  came.  Still  another  possibility  is  that 
they  came  from  Virginia,  lived  a  short  time  in  North  Carolina,  and 

'  See  Bibliography. 
63 


THE  SOUTHERN  HIGHLANDER 

then  moved  to  Kentucky.  Instances  of  such  change  of  residence 
are  by  no  means  uncommon.^ 

Further  details  of  this  study  cannot  be  discussed  here.  Only  the 
tentative  conclusions  can  be  given.  In  general  it  may  be  said  that 
of  the  1,200  representative  names  selected  of  families  now  living  in 
the  mountains,  many  were  recorded  in  the  census  of  1790  as  having 
been  present  on  what  were  then  the  frontiers  of  Virginia  and  the 
Carolinas.  Out  of  the  360  names  obtained  from  Kentucky,^  247 
were  so  placed  in  1 790.  Of  the  497  North  Carolina  names,  290  were 
in  the  Piedmont  and  western  part  of  the  state  in  1790,  190  of  them 
in  the  identical  counties  in  which  they  are  found  today.  Of  the 
228  Tennessee  names,  126,  or  more  than  one-half,  were  common 
in  1790  to  the  frontiers  of  Virginia,  North  Carolina,  or  South 
Carolina.  Owing  to  the  disappearance  of  the  1790  census  returns 
for  Georgia,  it  is  impossible  to  identify  any  of  the  182  names  of 
families  from  that  state. 

The  fact  that  many  families  of  frontier  settlement  remained  con- 
tinuously in  the  mountains  until  the  present  day  finds  documentary 
proof  in  pension  lists  made  after  the  counties  were  settled.  For 
instance,  the  Kentucky  pension  lists  of  1832  contain  the  names  of 
297  Revolutionary  War  veterans,  168  names  of  which  are  common 
today  in  the  Kentucky  mountains,  a  number  in  the  same  counties 
in  which  they  were  found  in  1790.  Of  the  names  of  154  war 
veterans  mentioned  by  the  pension  list  of  1832  as  living  in  the 
mountains  of  North  Carolina,  no  are  common  there  today.  In 
Tennessee,  evidence  seems  to  indicate  that  the  veterans  settled 
largely  in  the  Valley  areas,  as  the  names  on  pension  rolls  have  per- 
sisted in  the  Valley  more  than  in  the  mountain-ridge  areas.  In 
the  upper  part  of  the  Valley  of  East  Tennessee  were  found  many 
of  King's  Mountain  lineage,  of  whom  the  Shelbys,  Seviers,  and 
Beans  traced  descent  from  the  famous  pioneers  of  the  Watauga 


^  In  Michaux's  passage  across  the  barrens  of  western  Kentucky  he  speaks  of 
meeting  one  family  which  had  made  three  removals  since  leaving  Virginia,  and  was 
on  the  point  of  moving  again. — Michaux,  Vol.  Ill  in  Thwaites'  Early  Western 
Travels. 

^  As  immigration  into  the  mountains  of  Kentucky  did  not  begin,  at  least  to  any 
great  extent  until  after  1800,  the  location  of  a  Kentucky  name  on  the  Carolina  or 
Virginia  frontier  in  1790  would  tend  to  prove  that  settlers  came  originally  from  that 
state. 

64 


ANCESTRY 

Settlement,  and  the  Doaks  from  Dr.  Samuel  Doak/  who  founded 
what  is  known  as  "the  first  institution  of  classical  learning  west 
of  the  Alleghenies."^  Tradition,  however,  also  places  today  many 
descendants  of  King's  Mountain  veterans  in  the  mountain-ridge 
areas  of  Tennessee  and  North  Carolina. 

To  reach  conclusions  in  regard  to  the  numerical  superiority  of 
nationalities  based  on  a  study  of  name  lists,  would  necessitate  not 
only  a  complete  list  of  all  the  diflferent  mountain  names  but  an 
estimate  of  the  number  of  individuals  bearing  each  name.  We 
offer  our  findings,  however,  for  what  they  are  worth.  We  have 
grouped  Scotch,  Scotch-Irish,  and  Irish  names  together  under 
the  heading  Scotch-Irish.  Where  an  English  name  is  common 
to  both  England  and  Ireland,  it  is  assigned  to  England  unless 
the  family  bearing  it  is  definitely  known  to  have  come  from 
Ireland. 

Of  the  497  names  on  our  list  from  North  Carolina,  the  English 
and  Scotch-Irish  appear  to  have  formed  each  about  one-third;  of 
the  228  from  Tennessee  the  same  proportion  held;  of  the  360 
from  Kentucky,  the  English  constituted  four-tenths,  and  the 
Scotch-Irish  three-tenths.  The  Germans  showed  their  greatest 
strength  in  North  Carolina,  where  they  formed  one-fifth  of  the  en- 
lire  number.  In  Tennessee  they  constituted  one-seventh,  in  Ken- 
tucky but  one-twelfth.  There  were  a  small  number  of  Welsh  in  each 
state,  chiefly  in  Kentucky,  a  few  French,  and  a  few  strays  from 
other  countries.  In  Georgia,  of  182  names,  English  and  Scotch- 
Irish  formed  each  about  40  per  cent,  German  19  per  cent,  and  the 
remainder  were  Welsh  or  unidentified. 

Although  the  limits  of  this  name  study  give  no  real  basis  for 
conclusions  as  to  the  preponderance  in  the  Kentucky  mountains  of 
the  English  over  the  Scotch-Irish,  yet  the  very  slight  superiority 
found  does  support  the  claims  of  some  of  those  best  acquainted 
with  this  region,  who  hold  that  it  has  a  larger  strain  of  English 
than  of  any  other  stock. 

^  As  pastor  of  a  Presbyterian  congregation  at  Limestone,  Washington  County, 
he  opened  a  school  in  1785  which  was  incorporated  in  1788  as  Martin  Academy,  and 
in  1795  as  Washington  College.     See  note  on  page  164. 

2  "West  of  the  Alleghenies"  is  a  phrase  used  with  such  varying  significance  as 
to  cause  confusion.  Here  it  is  evidently  intended  to  refer  to  the  region  south  of 
Virginia  and  west  of  the  Blue  Ridge  Belt. 

65 


THE  SOUTHERN  HIGHLANDER 

In  a  further  effort  to  discover  whether  the  people  in  the  moun- 
tains today  were  descendants  of  original  settlers,  names  were  se- 
cured of  those  to  whom  early  land  grants  had  been  made,  and  these 
names  compared  with  those  of  families  now  living  in  the  same  gen- 
eral section  of  the  Highlands. 

The  lands  in  North  Carolina  that  lie  within  the  present  counties 
of  Buncombe,  iMadison,  Henderson,  Transylvania,  and  a  part  of 
Haywood,  were  thrown  open  to  settlement  through  a  treaty  be- 
tween the  state  of  North  Carolina  and  the  Cherokee  Indians  con- 
cluded on  July  20,  1777.^  In  1796  a  large  grant  (No.  25 1),^  cover- 
ing most  of  this  territory,  was  made  to  David  Allison.^  Attached  to 
the  surveyor's  plot  and  report  of  survey,  upon  which  the  state 
grant  to  Allison  was  based,  was  a  list  of  lands  already  appropriated 
within  the  bounds  of  the  plot  at  the  time  of  the  making  of  the  sur- 
vey— lands  which  had  doubtless  been  taken  up  by  settlers  who  had 
come  in  after  the  treaty  of  1777.  The  lisf*  contains  44  different 
names.  Thirty-four  of  these  are  names  of  large  families  still  living 
in  the  five  counties  previously  mentioned  as  covering  the  territory 
opened  for  settlement  by  the  treaty  of  1 777.  Both  family  and  local 
tradition  attribute  very  early  settlement  of  the  region  to  the  pro- 
genitors of  those  bearing  these  34  names,  and  in  the  case  of  some 
large  families  such  as  the  Alexanders,  Davidsons,  McDowells,  and 
Pattons,  the  reputation  of  being  descendants  of  the  first  settlers  is 
commonly  recognized. 

^  This  treaty  was  made  at  Long  Island  on  the  Holston  River,  and  has  generally 
been  designated  as  the  Treaty  of  Holston.  A  later  treaty  is  also  referred  to  as  the 
Treaty  of  Long  Island.  By  this  Treaty  of  Long  Island,  the  lines  separating  lands 
of  the  Cherokee  Nation  from  those  open  to  settlement  to  the  white  men  were 
defined. 

^  For  this  information,  and  for  much  other  valuable  information  relating  to  early 
settlement  and  early  land  grants,  the  author  is  greatly  indebted  to  Mr.  Cameron  F. 
McRae,  Special  Assistant  to  the  Attorney-General,  United  States  Department  of 
Justice,  Asheville,  North  Carolina;  and  to  Mr.  Judson  S.  Bohannan,  Attorney, 
United  States  Department  of  Agriculture,  Asheville,  North  Carolina. 

'  There  are  many  Allisons  now  in  the  North  Carolina  mountains,  but  they  are  not 
descendants  of  this  David  Allison.  He  was  an  Englishman  owning  thousands  of 
acres  of  land  all  over  the  state,  but  he  died  in  the  poor  debtors'  prison  in  Philadel- 
phia. 

*  Many  years  ago  the  list  of  appropriated  lands  became  detached  from  the  plot 
and  report  of  survey,  and  could  not  be  found.  A  recent  re-indexing  of  papers  in  the 
office  of  the  secretary  of  state  at  Raleigh,  North  Carolina,  brought  this  lost  list  to 
light,  and  it  has  been  filed.  Information  relative  to  names  contained  in  this  list 
was  thus  made  available  for  our  purposes. 

66 


ANCESTRY 

While  the  findings  from  land  grants  are  confined  largely  to  west- 
ern North  Carolina,  our  experience  leads  us  to  believe  that  similar 
results  would  follow  a  study  of  grants  in  areas  of  east  Tennessee  and 
sections  of  the  Virginias  and  Kentucky. 

The  value  of  family  traditions  in  casting  light  on  lines  of  migra- 
tion, method  of  settlement,  and  the  stock  and  character  of  early 
settlers  may  be  illustrated  by  a  few  examples.  In  Madison  County, 
North  Carolina,  live  a  large  family  of  Sheltons,  of  English  blood, 
who  claim  that  the  first  of  the  name  came  into  that  region  from 
Yancey  County,  North  Carolina,  about  1790.  Intermarried  with 
them,  as  well  as  with  a  number  of  other  families  in  this  neighbor- 
hood, are  those  who  claim  direct  descent  from  John  Sevier,  who  it 
will  be  recalled  was  of  French  Huguenot  and  English  ancestry,  and 
closely  identified  with  the  Watauga  Settlement  which  lay  just  to 
the  northwest  of  this  section  in  the  Tennessee  Valley.  A  large 
family  of  Tweeds,  of  Irish  descent,  whose  ancestors  came  about 
1826  from  Charleston,  South  Carolina,  hold  that  they  were  the 
sixth  family  to  settle  in  this  part  of  the  county,  the  other  families 
already  living  there  at  the  time  of  their  coming  being  Sheltons, 
Franklins,  Rices,  and  Cutshalls — all  common  names  still  in  this 
neighborhood.  The  two  earliest  recorded  grants  of  land  to  Shel- 
tons, on  "Lorrel"  Creek  in  this  region,  were  to  David  and  Lewis 
Shelton  in  1815,  while  a  grant  was  made  to  one  William  Rice  in  the 
same  general  neighborhood  in  1799.  The  date  of  the  Shelton  grant 
does  not  confirm  the  family  tradition  that  they  settled  in  what  is 
now  Madison  County  in  1 790,  and  were  the  first  to  do  so,  but  it 
does  not  necessarily  invalidate  it,  as  many  early  settlers  did  not 
take  out  their  grants  until  some  time  after  occupation. 

A  direct  tradition  of  migration  from  the  Carolina  Piedmont  was 
given  by  an  old  woman  in  the  Kentucky  mountains,  whose  grand- 
father, she  said,  signed  the  "Declaration  of  Independence,"  later 
found  to  mean  the  Mecklenburg  Declaration  of  1775.  Another 
Kentucky  grandmother,  who  had  no  knowledge  of  the  previous 
home  of  her  family  in  America,  knew  that  her  grandmother  came 
"from  that  far-away  and  absent  land  across  the  sea  they  call  Eng- 
land." In  the  mountains  of  this  state,  also,  a  woman  of  about 
sixty,  bearing  a  name  well  known  in  her  section,  gives  this  inter- 
esting account  of  the  emigration  from  his  native  land  of  her  first 

67 


THE  SOUTHERN  HIGHLANDER 

American  ancestor.  It  was  the  custom  in  England,  she  said,  for 
school  children  to  make,  at  Christmas  time,  a  present  to  their 
teacher,  of  a  hen,  or  goose,  or  duck.  Her  ancestor — how  many 
times  removed  from  the  present  generation  she  did  not  know — 
owned  a  goose  and  had  asked  his  stepmother  to  let  him  take  it  to 
his  teacher.  Upon  her  refusing,  he  took  it  without  her  consent.  For 
this,  under  the  rigorous  laws  existent,  he  was  convicted  and  had 
come  to  America.  Although  she  had  been  criticized  by  her  rela- 
tives for  telling  this  story,  she  said  she  herself  felt  it  to  be  no  dis- 
credit to  her  people,  showing  as  it  did  the  independent  spirit  of  the 
family,  which  claimed  what  belonged  to  it.  Her  immediate  grand- 
father had  moved  from  North  Carolina  to  Tennessee,  to  the  Nash- 
ville region,  evidently  in  the  early  days  of  the  settlement  of  that 
country,  and  later  on  into  Kentucky.  He  was  an  educated  man, 
and  had  had  his  sons  educated,  but  did  not  believe  in  schooling  for 
his  daughters,  so  the  girls  had  never  received  any  book  learning,  or, 
as  she  expressed  it,  "were  educated  in  everything  except  book 
learning."  Her  father,  she  went  on  to  say,  on  coming  into  Ken- 
tucky, "took  up  a  broad  boundary  of  land  at  the  mouth  of  the 
creek,  hit  were  a  sight  to  see,"  and  she  had  been  "  born  and  raised  in 
the  wilderness,  and  never  knowed  anything." 

This  tradition  is  particularly  interesting  as  showing  the  back- 
ward movement  into  the  mountains  mentioned  in  the  previous 
chapter  as  taking  place  through  the  return  of  those  who  had  passed 
through  them  earlier  on  their  way  to  the  West.  It  illustrates  also 
the  attitude  toward  the  education  of  women  which  still  exists  in 
many  places  in  the  Highlands,  as  well  as  the  natural  result  of 
having  been  "born  and  raised  in  the  wilderness." 

There  is  a  theory  of  origin  to  which  it  may  bear  evidence.  A 
reference  has  already  been  made  to  the  much  discussed  question  of 
whether  the  Highland  people  are  to  any  extent  descendants  of  those 
transported  for  alleged  crimes,  and  indentured  service.^  That  some 
of  the  mountain  people  are  sprung  from  such  stock  is  undoubtedly 
true.  The  freedom  of  the  frontier  at  this  period  as  at  others  made 
it  a  refuge  for  criminals  and  the  oppressed,  and  its  cheap  lands 
attracted  those  who  from  poverty  and  debt  as  well  as  from  natural 
ambition  and  the  spirit  of  adventure,  wished  to  improve  their  for- 

^  See  Appendix  B. 

68 


ANCESTRY 


tunes.  Those,  however,  who  have  pressed  the  theory,  have  failed 
to  mitigate  the  severity  of  their  verdict  by  calHng  to  mind  the  high 
character  of  some  of  the  indentured  servants  and  the  exiled  political 
prisoners,  or  the  harsh  and  brutal  penalties  exacted  at  the  time 
in  England  for  very  minor  offenses.  In  the  present  instance 
it  could  not  be  learned  whether  the  ancestor  in  question  had 
been  sent  to  this  country  by  the  English  authorities  after  con- 
viction, by  his  own  hard  kinsmen,  or  whether  he  had  come  of  his 
own  initiative. 

Another  hint  of  an  origin  of  this  sort  was  found  in  a  family  whose 
early  ancestor  in  America  was  said  to  have  been  an  "  English  out- 
law." One  could  not  but  speculate  on  the  nature  of  his  alleged 
crime,  for  among  his  many  descendants  were  some  of  the  most  sub- 
stantial and  respected  citizens  of  the  neighborhood  in  which  they 
lived.  Another  highly  esteemed  family  also  traced,  by  tradition, 
their  descent  from  an  ancestor  who,  eager  to  come  to  this  country, 
had  bound  himself  out  to  service  for  a  number  of  years  to  pay  for 
his  passage.  These  three  instances  are  the  only  clues,  borne  out 
by  tradition,  which  have  come  to  our  personal  notice  as  evidence  of 
the  indentured  or  redemptioner  theory,  but  naturally  evidence  of 
this  kind,  if  held  by  mountain  families,  would  not  in  the  very 
nature  of  things  be  spread  broadcast.^ 

A  side  light  has  been  thrown  upon  the  question  of  the  ancestry 
of  the  mountain  people  by  Cecil  J.  Sharp,  Director  of  the  Stratford- 
on-Avon  School  of  Folk  Song  and  Dance  and  a  recognized  author- 
ity on  these  subjects.  Mr.  Sharp  became  interested  in  a  collection 
of  ballads  made  by  Mrs.  Campbell  during  her  numerous  journeys 
while  the  writer  was  making  his  field  study.  He  spent  many 
months  in  the  mountains  of  North  Carolina,  Tennessee,  the  Vir- 
ginias, and  Kentucky  collecting  ballads  and  folk-songs  from  the 
people  themselves.  In  response  to  an  inquiry  as  to  his  views  of  the 
ancestry  of  the  people,  Mr.  Sharp  makes  this  reply: 

The  racial  origin  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  Southern  Appa- 
lachians, so  far  as  I  know  them,  is  an  extremely  intricate  prob- 
lem and  one  which  1  am  quite  sure  is  not  going  satisfactorily 

Mt  is  claimed  by  one  mountaineer  of  eastern  Kentucky  that  certain  sections  of 
this  mountain  area  received  poor  and  indentured  white  stock  from  \irginia  through 
the  eastern  gaps,  and  that  this  circumstance  has  strongly  influenced  the  character 
of  life  on  at  least  one  fork  of  the  Kentucky  River. 

69 


THE  SOUTHERN  HIGHLANDER 

to  be  solved  by  speculative  generalizations  on  the  part  of  hap- 
hazard travellers  like  myself.  The  elucidation  of  the  problem 
needs  the  assistance  and  careful  investigation  of  ethnologists, 
anthropologists,  as  well  as  the  examination  of  land  titles  and 
other  legal  documents  concerning  the  settlement  of  the  moun- 
tain regions.  Nevertheless,  for  what  they  are  worth,  1  will 
gladly  give  you  my  impressions.  My  first  observation,  and,  per- 
haps the  one  upon  which  1  feel  that  1  can  speak  with  some 
certainty,  is  that  whatever  may  be  the  racial  origin  of  the  moun- 
taineers, their  predominant  culture  is  overwhelmingly  Anglo- 
Saxon,  or,  perhaps,  to  be  more  accurate,  Anglo-Celtic.  That  is 
to  say,  whatever  admixture  of  races  there  may  be  in  the  moun- 
tains, the  Anglo-Celt  has  managed  pretty  completely  to  absorb 
them,  to  take  them  into  his  own  orbit  without  himself  being 
appreciably  infected  by  them.  1  have  formed  this  opinion  from 
several  considerations;  from  observing  the  everyday  manners, 
habits,  and  customs,  all  of  which  are  demonstrably  Anglo-Saxon; 
from  an  analysis  of  their  traditional  songs,  ballads,  dances,  sing- 
ing-games, etc.;  and  finally,  in  a  general  way,  from  their  physical 
characteristics.  The  strongest  argument  in  favor  of  this  view 
is  based  on  the  character  of  the  traditional  songs  and  dances 
which  seem  to  me  to  be  saturated  with  the  Anglo-Celtic  idiom  to 
the  exclusion  of  every  other.  The  one  dance  that  1  have  seen 
and  collected  is  a  very  strong  and  concise  piece  of  evidence, 
because  I  think  there  is  no  doubt  that  it  represents  a  stage  in  the 
development  of  the  English  Country  Dance  of  a  very  early  date, 
certainly  prior  to  1650;  and  the  fact  that  the  mountaineers 
could  not  have  left  Great  Britain  for  a  century  or  more  after  that 
date  can  only  be  accounted  for  upon  the  supposition  that  they 
came  from  a  part  of  England  where  the  civilization  was  least 
developed — probably  the  North  of  England,  or  the  Border  coun- 
try between  Scotland  and  England.  The  same  deduction  can 
be  made  with  regard  to  the  language,  which,  I  take  it,  is  far 
more  archaic  than  the  language  of  the  South  of  England  at  the 
time  when  these  people  must  have  emigrated, — but  on  this 
aspect  of  the  question  1  cannot  speak  with  any  authority.  The 
argument  with  regard  to  the  dance  1  have  developed  more  fully 
in  my  introduction  to  the  Fifth  Country  Dance  Book^  which  will 
be  published  in  a  week  or  two.  it  is  possible,  of  course,  that  the 
musical  idiom  of  the  songs  in  the  mountains  has  become  more 
archaic  and  primitive  in  character  since  the  original  emigrants 
arrived  in  this  country,  owing  to  the  extreme  isolation  of  the 
country  in  which  they  have  resided;  and  this  is  a  point  of  view 

*  The  Country  Dance  Book,  Part  V,  by  Cecil  J.  Sharp.     London,  Novello  &  Co. 
Ltd.;  New  York.  The  H.  W.  Gray  Co. 

70 


ANCESTRY 

which  Mr.  Fox  Strangways  has  suggested  in  his  review  of  our 
book'  in  the  London  Times.- 

Al!  the  other  observations  that  I  have  to  make  are  much  more 
speculative.  There  is,  of  course,  the  evidence  of  the  surnames 
of  the  mountaineers,  for  what  it  is  worth,  and  even  there  the 
names  that  have  come  under  my  own  observation  are  necessarily 
very  few  in  number,  too  few  really  to  justify  one  in  forming  any 
trustworthy  theory.  But  so  far  as  they  go  they  seem  to  me  to 
strengthen  and  bear  out  the  theory  of  origin  that  I  have  already 
enunciated.  The  majority  of  the  names  of  my  friends  in  the 
mountains  are  English,  or  Scottish;  the  Irish  names  are  very 
few,  and  the  German  names  still  fewer.  But  here  again  one 
stands  on  shifty  ground,  because  the  pronunciation  of  names  is 
perpetually  changing. 

Perhaps  Mr.  Sharp's  designation  "Anglo-Celtic"  may  be  a  name 
under  which  can  unite  the  contending  forces  that  have  arrayed 
themselves  as  supporters  on  the  one  hand  of  the  claim  to  Scotch- 
Irish  blood,  and  on  the  other  to  Anglo-Saxon  lineage — meaning 
thereby  pure  English.  Without  doubt  these  two  elements  are  the 
strongest  in  the  mountain  population,  though  the  Highland  people 
are  not  different  from  the  Lowland  Southerners  in  this  respect.  The 
Scotch-Irish  strain  is  strongest  in  some  mountain  sections;  the 
English  in  others;  and  in  some  communities  may  be  surmised  an 
influence  of  German  ancestry.^  Personally,  however,  we  have  been 
unable  to  trace  distinguishing  characteristics,  whether  in  Lauder- 
milks — by  tradition  Pennsylvania  Dutch,  Westmorelands — Eng- 
lish from  Virginia,  or  Campbells — be  they  Highland,  Lowland,  or 
Scotch-Irish.  The  vast  majority  of  the  Highlanders  are  descen- 
dants of  settlers  who  were  native  born,  and  who,  by  their  common 
interests,  hardships,  and  struggles,  were  blended  into  a  homogen- 
eous people — the  type  which  has  come  to  be  called  "American." 

*  English  Folk  Songs  from  the  Southern  Appalachians,  collected  by  Olive  Dame 
Campbell  and  Cecil  J.  Sharp,  G.  P.  Putnam's  Sons,  1917. 
^  London  Times,  Literary  Supplement,  January  17,  1918. 

'  Some  have  made  much  of  the  Indian  element  in  the  mountain  population  in 
certain  areas,  and  the  author  has  found  a  number  of  families  who  claim  Indian  blood. 
Undoubtedly  there  is  some  Indian  admixture  in  the  Highlands,  as  in  much  American 
pioneer  stock;  but  it  is  doubtful  whether  it  has  been  sufficient  to  cause  marked  char- 
acteristics. 


71 


CHAPTER  V 
THE  PRESENT  HIGHLAND  POPULATION 

IN  any  consideration  of  the  people  now  living  in  the  Southern 
Highlands,  certain  questions  as  to  their  ethnic  composition, 
distribution,  increase,  and  social  groupings  inevitably  present 
themselves.  One  is  reminded  often  by  friends  of  the  Highlander 
that  he  is  the  true  American,  and  the  type  of  American  usually 
seized  upon  as  representative  of  all  Highlanders  is  the  early  pioneer 
type.  The  pioneer  is,  indeed,  still  to  be  recognized  in  many  of  his 
mountain  descendants — tall,  lean,  clear-eyed,  self-reliant,  never 
taken  by  surprise,  and  of  great  endurance. 

Recently  on  a  midnight  train  a  mountain  youth  answering  to 
this  description  and  clad  in  his  country's  uniform,  was  returning 
home  from  overseas  service.  His  parents  lived  in  the  country  at 
some  distance  from  the  railroad.  They  were  not  expecting  him  so 
soon,  and  he  aimed  to  "slip  up  on  them  against  sun-up."  This 
involved  his  tramping  twenty  to  twenty-five  miles  over  rough 
mountain  roads  in  the  darkness,  carrying  his  overcoat  and  heavy 
leather  suit-case.  This  is  not  an  exceptional  instance.  Nearly 
every  mountain  teacher  has  stories  to  tell  of  much  longer  distances 
covered  on  foot  in  surprisingly  short  times  by  both  boys  and  girls 
going  to  spend  week-ends  with  their  home  folks. 

Popular  fancy  would  not  be  satisfied  if  the  home  folks  were  pic- 
tured anywhere  but  before  the  hospitable  hearth  of  the  little  log 
cabin  of  pioneer  days.  No  other  dwelling  can  ever  fit  so  well  into 
the  wooded  hills  and  coves  of  our  mountain  country.  Built  for 
service  rather  than  for  appearance,  there  is  yet  real  beauty  in  the 
long  lines  of  the  roof.  Comfort  breathes  in  the  smoke  that  curls 
up  from  the  squat  chimney;  and  when  spring  plants  its  daffodils 
beside  the  gray  walls  and  the  neighboring  peach  bloom  hides  the 
dark-hued  cedar,  there  is  a  charm  about  the  mountain  cabin  that 
few  other  homes  in  any  region  possess.     More  and  more  as  time 

72 


THE  PRESENT  HIGHLAND  POPULATION 

goes  on  it  will  be  recognized  as  a  symbol  of  the  pioneer  life  which 
shaped  America,  and  which  still  lingers  in  its  strength  and  in  its 
simplicity  in  sections  of  our  Southern  Highlands. 

All  mountain  homes  are  not  cabins,  however,  nor  are  all  High- 
landers of  the  compelling  type  described.  That  life  within  different 
areas  would  vary  greatly  will  readily  be  inferred  from  previous 
chapters.  Here  the  land  lay  in  large  unbroken  areas  of  mountain 
and  plateau,  there  in  long  fertile  valleys  or  ranges  flanked  by  the 
rolling  country  of  the  Piedmont;  now  it  was  disposed  in  extensive 
lofty  uplands  cut  by  valleys,  and  again  in  smaller  tracts  accessible 
to  urban  communities  of  the  bordering  hills  or  of  the  Valley.  In 
one  case  the  original  stock  would  be  little  affected  by  influences 
from  the  outside;  in  another  an  easy  outlet  would  be  offered  for 
native  ambition  and  initiative,  as  well  as  a  ready  retreat  for  dis- 
satisfied elements  of  the  Lowlands.  At  certain  points  because  of 
strategic  position  cities  would  spring  up,  and  at  others  the  variety 
of  the  mountain  country  would  account  for  a  rural  life  of  different 
degrees.  Common  ancestry  would  not,  of  course,  insure  equality 
of  social  standing  nor  the  same  measure  of  character  among  all 
settlers.  Roosevelt's  comment  as  to  the  composition  of  pioneer 
society  held  true  of  society  in  the  mountains:  "The  influence  of 
heredity  was  no  more  plainly  perceptible  than  was  the  extent  of 
individual  variation.  *****  All  qualities,  good  and  bad, 
are  intensified  and  accentuated  in  the  life  of  the  wilderness."  M 
The  good  became  heroes;   the  bad,  criminals. 

Continued  isolation  would  tend  to  further  accentuate  these  dif- 
ferences, and  accessibility  to  minimize  them.  The  urban  dwellers 
of  the  Southern  Highlands  are,  as  a  rule,  the  more  accessible,  and 
on  the  basis  of  accessibility  and  inaccessibility  some  deductions 
may  be  drawn  as  to  existing  groups,  for  inaccessibility  suggests  not 
only  the  obstacles  arising  from  topography  and  distance  but  the 
various  and  often  more  difficult  obstacles  to  economic  and  social 
contact  and  intercourse  engendered  by  isolation. 

it  is  to  be  regretted  that  statistics  on  population,  its  size,  com- 
position, and  distribution,  must  be  based  on  the  census  of  1910. 
Conditions  are  changing  fast  in  many  sections  of  the  Highlands. 

^  Roosevelt,  Theodore:  The  Winning  of  the  West,  \'ol.  1,  p.  167.  New  York, 
G.  P.  Putnam's  Sons,  1900. 

73 


THE  SOUTHERN  HIGHLANDER 

Increases  in  the  groups  of  non-native  stock  and  in  urban  popula- 
tions, especially  in  the  Greater  Appalachian  Valley  and  in  mining 
areas  of  the  Allegheny-Cumberland  Belt,  are  to  be  expected  in  the 
returns  of  1920.    The  figures  given  in  Table  1,  however,  will  serve 

TABLE   I. — POPULATION  OF  THE  SOUTHERN  HIGHLANDS  AND  DISTRI- 
BUTION OF  POPULATION  BY  NATIVITY  AND  RACE,   BY  BELTS.       I9IO 


Total 
popula- 
tion 

Per  cent 

White 

Negro 

Belt 

Native  born 

Foreign 
born 

Total 
white 

Others 

Of 
native 
parents 

Of 
foreign 
parents 

Blue  Ridge 

Greater  Appa- 
lachian Valley 

Allegheny-Cum- 
berland 

1,257,230 
1,581,307 
2,49  ■•574 

84.1 
78.9 

87.8 

0.5 
1.8 

3-4 

0.3 
i.o 

2.8 

84.9 

81.7 
94.0 

14.9 

18.3 

5-9 

0.1 

Total 

5,330,111 

84.3 

2.2 

17 

88.2 

11.7 

(^) 

^  Less  than  0.05  per  cent. 

to  indicate  the  size  and  composition  of  the  present  mountain  pop- 
ulation. 

There  was  in  the  Highlands,  according  to  the  census  of  19 lo,  a 
population  of  5,330,111  persons.  Of  these,  4,493,727,  or  84.3  per 
cent,  were  native  white  of  native  parentage.  The  elements  enter- 
ing into  the  mountain  population  and  their  proportions  in  each  of 
the  three  mountain  belts  are  shown  in  the  table.^ 

How  far  the  unbroken  masses  of  the  plateau  region  have  acted  to 
preserve  the  native  stock  is  shown  by  the  fact  that  87.8  per  cent  of 
the  population  of  the  Allegheny-Cumberland  Belt  is  native  white 
of  native  parents.  The  Blue  Ridge  Belt,  owing  probably  to  its  more 
broken  character  and  the  accessibility  of  some  of  its  valleys,  has  a 
lower  percentage  of  native  stock,  while  as  might  be  expected  the 
lowest  proportion  of  native  white  population  is  found  in  the  Valley. 

1  Detailed  statistics  are  presented  in  Appendix  E  showing  the  amount,  density 
rate  of  increase,  and  composition  of  the  population  of  each  of  the  mountain  belts 
and  of  the  non-mountain  population  of  the  nine  Highland  states,  by  states. 

74 


THE  PRESENT  HIGHLAND  POPULATION 

To  those  who  have  heard  the  often  repeated  statement  that  there 
are  no  Negroes  in  the  mountains,  the  percentage  of  Negroes  in  the 
Blue  Ridge  Belt  and  Greater  Appalachian  Valley  may  come  as  a 
surprise.  In  the  connection,  however,  that  the  assertion  is  usually 
made,  it  is  true.  In  many  of  the  remoter  counties,  especially  those 
where  there  are  few  large  valleys,  few  mining  or  industrial  develop- 
ments, or  few  cities,  there  are  very  few  Negroes.  The  Negro  popu- 
lation is  largely  in  the  cities  of  the  Highlands,  in  the  Greater  Valley, 
especially  in  its  southern  reaches,  and  in  the  larger  accessible 
valleys  of  the  Blue  Ridge  Belt. 

The  foreign  born,  who  show  their  largest  percentage  in  the  Alle- 
gheny-Cumberland Belt,  are  for  the  most  part  congregated  in  the 
mining  sections,  being  more  numerous  naturally  in  those  centers 
longest  developed.  In  such  places  they  have  intermarried  some- 
what with  the  native  stock,  but  up  to  this  time  their  influence  upon 
mountain  life  has  not  been  noticeable. 

It  will  be  seen  in  Table  2  that  the  population  is  distributed  among 
the  three  belts  rather  closely  in  proportion  to  area.  The  population 
is  a  little  less  than  proportional  to  area,  however,  in  the  Blue  Ridge 
and  Allegheny-Cumberland  belts,  and  correspondingly  more  than 
proportional  in  the  Greater  Appalachian  Valley.  The  latter  has 
accordingly  a  considerably  higher  density  of  population  than  the 
other  two  belts. 

TABLE  2. — DISTRIBUTION   OF  AREA   AND    POPULATION,   AND  DENSITY 
OF  POPULATION  IN  THE  THREE  HIGHLAND  BELTS.       I9IO 


Belt 

Per  cent 

of  total 

area 

Per  cent 

of  total 

population 

Population 

per  square 

mile 

Blue  Ridge 

Greater  Appalachian  Valley 

Allegheny-Cumberland 

27.1 
22.8 
50.1 

23.6 
29.7 
46.7 

41.6 
62.1 

44-5 

Total 

100.0 

1 00.0 

47.8 

The  figures  for  density  given  in  Table  2  cannot  serve  adequately 
to  give  an  idea  of  the  concentration  of  population  in  certain  sec- 
tions. South  Carolina  in  the  Blue  Ridge  Belt  has  a  population  per 
square  mile  of  75.6,  but  this  high  density  is  accounted  for  by  the 

7  75 


THE  SOUTHERN  HIGHLANDER 

fact  that  the  mountain  region  in  this  state  occupies  only  part  of  the 
four  counties  Hsted  as  being  in  the  Blue  Ridge  Belt.  The  remainder 
of  their  areas  is  taken  up  by  a  wide  Piedmont  Belt  in  which  the 
cotton  textile  industry  has  grown  rapidly.  West  Virginia,  which 
likewise  has  grown  fast  by  reason  of  its  industrial  development,  has 
in  that  part  of  the  state  within  the  Allegheny-Cumberland  Belt  a 
density  of  52.4  per  square  mile.  The  Valley  section  of  Tennessee, 
wherein  lie  Knoxville  and  Chattanooga,  and  the  Valley  section  of 
Alabama,  in  which  Birmingham  is  located,  reach  a  density  of  72.9 
and  80.7  respectively;  while  all  of  the  three  belts  of  Maryland,  the 
Valley  early  settled  and  accessible,  the  one  Blue  Ridge  county  in- 
cluding a  wide  Piedmont  area,  and  the  Allegheny-Cumberland  re- 
gion with  extensive  lumbering  and  mining  development,  show  high 
densities,  79.4,  108.  i,  and  73.2  respectively. 

While  the  concentration  of  population  indicated  by  these  figures 
is  due  in  large  part  to  urban  and  industrial  development,  the  Ken- 
tucky mountains  with  an  area  of  13,302  square  miles,  in  which  in 
1910  there  were  only  six  incorporated  places  of  2,500  inhabitants 
and  over,  surprise  one  with  a  density  of  43.7,  which  is  higher  than 
that  of  the  entire  state  of  Alabama  and  almost  equal  to  that  of  the 
state  of  Georgia,  although  it  has  hitherto  been  a  region  very  much 
shut  in.  Moreover,  here  as  well  as  in  other  less  extensive  but  re- 
mote areas  of  the  mountains  there  is  in  some  valleys  and  coves  and 
along  the  watercourses,  even  to  the  headwaters  of  many  of  the 
smaller  streams,  a  concentration  of  population  much  greater  than 
the  density  of  the  general  region  in  which  it  lies  would  lead  one  to 
suppose.  There  are,  it  is  true,  long  stretches  of  comparatively 
thin-soiled,  level,  plateau  land  sparsely  inhabited,  and  extensive 
areas  of  uninhabited  land  are  found  among  the  higher  ranges;  yet 
it  is  by  no  means  true  that  areas  of  the  mountains  generally  con- 
sidered poorest  agriculturally  always  have  the  lowest  density  of 
population. 

Comparison  of  the  population  increases  and  densities  within 
the  mountains,  state  by  state,  and  with  the  non-mountainous  areas 
of  these  states,  brings  to  light  some  interesting  facts  as  to  popula- 
tion in  sections  popularly  regarded  as  lacking  in  natural  advan- 
tages. The  Kentucky  mountains  again  surprise  one  with  an  in- 
crease of  18  per  cent  between  1900  and  1910,  as  compared  with  an 

76 


THE  PRESENT  HIGHLAND  POPULATION 

increase  in  the  extra-mountain  area  of  Kentucky  of  3.3  per  cent. 
Not  only  iiave  the  Kentucky  mountains  outstripped  the  other  por- 
tions of  that  state,  but  the  rate  of  increase  has  been  greater  than  that 
in  the  non-mountainous  areas  of  all  of  these  nine  Southern  states 
except  Georgia,  where  the  increase  is  only  i  per  cent  greater  than 
that  in  the  Kentucky  mountains.  Yet  the  rate  of  increase  in  the 
mountains  of  Kentucky  during  1900-19 10  was  materially  less  than 
that  for  the  previous  decade. 

The  increases  and  the  rates  of  increase  in  population  in  the 
decades  1890- 1900  and  i90o-i9iofor  the  different  belts  and  for  the 
mountain  region  as  a  whole,  as  compared  with  those  of  the  non- 
mountainous  region  of  the  states  and  the  states  in  their  entirety, 
are  given  in  Table  3. 

TABLE  3. — INCREASE  IN  POPULATION  IN  THE  SOUTHERN  HIGHLANDS 
AND  IN  THE  SOUTHERN  HIGHLAND  STATES   FROM   1 89O  TO   I9OO 

AND  FROM   1900  TO   I9IO 


Region 

Increase 
1890-1900 

Increase 
1900-1910 

Number 

Per  cent 

Number 

Per  cent 

Blue  Ridge  Belt 

Greater  Appalachian  Valley 

Allegheny-Cumberland  Belt 

141,401 
191,281 
41 1,072 

14.2 
16.6 
25.4 

117,727 
235.087 
462,485 

10.3 

«7-5 
22.8 

Total  mountain  region 
Non-mountain  region 

743.754 
1.497,435 

19.7 
15.9 

815,299 
1,258,401 

18.1 
II. 5 

Total  Highland  states 

2,241,189 

17.0 

2,073,700 

13.4 

It  will  be  seen  that  while  the  Highland  region  shows  a  falling  off 
in  the  rate  of  increase  during  the  decade  1900-19 lo,  there  was, 
nevertheless,  an  actual  gain  in  population  between  1900  and  19 10  of 
815,299,  as  against  743,754  for  1890-1900.  Moreover,  the  rate  of  in- 
crease for  that  decade  in  the  entire  mountain  region  is  not  only  con- 
siderably above  that  of  the  non-mountain  region  of  the  same  states 
as  well  as  that  of  the  states  in  their  entirety,  but  in  the  Greater 
Appalachian  Valley  is  actually  higher  than  in  the  preceding  decade. 
As  a  matter  of  fact  the  population  is  still  increasing  rapidly,  al- 
though a  shifting  in  its  position  and  certain  county  losses,  which 

77 


THE  SOUTHERN  HIGHLANDER 

have  not  arisen  simply  from  a  subdivision  of  counties,  might  give 
an  impression  to  the  contrary. 

The  study  of  gains  and  losses  in  different  parts  of  the  Highlands 
presents  such  startling  contrasts  in  regions  sometimes  closely 
adjacent  as  to  demand  local  explanation.  Surveys  would  be  nec- 
essary to  determ.ine  the  various  conditions  acting  to  produce  decline 
in  numbers.  Some  of  these  losses  are  in  good  agricultural  sections 
and  would  seem  to  be  due  not  merely  to  agricultural  conditions  but 
to  social  and  industrial  causes  which  have  operated  in  other  parts  of 
the  United  States  to  decrease  rural  populations.  From  a  study  of 
groups  of  counties  showing  decreases  it  would  appear  that  the  buy- 
ing up  of  large  tracts  of  land  by  lumber  and  water-power  companies 
and  the  pull  of  the  cotton  mills  to  the  Piedmont  section  have  been 
among  the  prominent  factors. 

The  largest  increase  of  population  has  been  in  the  Allegheny- 
Cumberland  Belt,  due  to  the  development  of  coal  mining  and  the 
industries  attendant  upon  it.  The  second  largest  increase  is  in  the 
Valley  Belt,  where  transportation  facilities  were  established  earli- 
est, where  most  of  the  first  cities  grew,  and  where  there  are  the 
largest  areas  of  good  land.  In  all  the  belts  the  urban  group  is  in- 
creasing rapidly,  and  in  the  mountains  as  elsewhere  the  causes 
that  hasten  this  tendency  are  the  economic,  educational,  and  social 
poverty  of  rural  life. 

The  urban  and  rural  groups  of  the  Highlands  offer,  as  previously 
suggested,  on  the  basis  of  accessibility  and  inaccessibility,  certain 
features  by  which  the  population  may  be  classified.  The  obvious 
danger  of  such  a  basis  for  classification  lies  in  inferences  that  may 
be  drawn  as  to  the  ratio  of  poverty  and  need  to  accessibility  or 
inaccessibility.  Extremes  of  wealth  and  poverty  are  associated 
with  urban  quite  as  much  as  with  rural  conditions,  and  sometimes 
the  greatest  need  is  found  not  in  the  most  remote  parts  of  the 
Highlands,  but  near  urban  centers  and  in  connection  with  com- 
paratively accessible  but  poor  soils  on  the  edge  of  the  mountains. 

It  is  difficult,  moreover,  to  give  to  those  who  have  not  traveled 
in  the  more  inaccessible  sections  of  the  Highlands  an  idea  of  what 
one  means  by  nearness  or  remoteness.  Nearness  cannot  here  be 
measured  by  an  air  line,  and  the  way  that  intervenes  between  the 
Lowland  or  urban  center  from  which  a  traveler  may  set  out  and 

78 


THE  PRESENT  HIGHLAND  POPULATION 

the  remote  mountain  community  that  he  reaches,  though  short  as 
reckoned  in  miles,  often  proves  long  and  wearisome.  Whether  the 
journey  be  made  long  by  the  roughness  of  the  road  or  lengthened 
by  the  generous  mountain  mile,  measured  as  the  mountain  saying 
has  it  "by  a  coon-skin  with  the  tail  thrown  in,"  as  acquaintance 
with  conditions  grows  the  traveler  comes  to  feel  that  such  distances 
cannot  be  estimated  rightly  by  linear  measure.  A  standard  of  time  is 
needed  to  indicate  the  interval  between  the  two  places,  for  they  are 
separated  not  so  much  by  miles  as  by  years,  decades,  or  generations. 

Before  entering  upon  any  discussion  of  urban  and  rural  groups 
it  is  necessary  to  define  what  is  meant  by  these  terms.  The  United 
States  census  of  19 lo  classifies  as  urban  population  residents  in 
cities  and  other  incorporated  places  of  2,500  inhabitants  or  more, 
although  in  computing  mortality  rates  it  limits  the  term  urban  to 
places  having  10,000  or  more  inhabitants. 

It  has  been  questioned  whether  in  matters  that  distinguish  the 
relative  advantages  of  urban  and  rural  life,  a  number  as  small  as 
2,500  should  be  used  as  the  urban  minimum.  Some  even  go  so  far 
as  to  class  the  dwellers  in  communities  of  less  than  25,000  inhabi- 
tants as  essentially  rural  people,  on  the  theory  that  only  where  a 
community  has  reached  that  size  are  the  important  distinguishing 
differences  between  urban  and  rural  life  apparent. 

It  is  interesting  to  find  that  in  the  entire  extent  of  the  nine  South- 
ern states  whose  mountain  areas  are  under  consideration,  there  are 
but  27  cities  of  more  than  25,000  inhabitants.  These  nine  states 
with  a  total  area  of  345,332  square  miles  and  a  total  population  of 
17,521,672,  have  but  two  more  places  of  over  25,000  inhabitants 
than  has  Massachusetts,  with  an  area  of  8,040  square  miles  and 
with  a  population  of  3,366,416  inhabitants. 

The  extent  to  which  the  population  of  the  Highland  region  is 
rural  has  been  computed  on  each  of  these  three  bases,  a  minimum 
population  for  cities  of  25,000,  10,000,  and  2,500  respectively,  and 
also  on  the  basis  of  a  smaller  urban  minimum  of  1,000  population. 
The  results  are  shown  in  Table  4,  which  also  gives  the  number  of 
cities  in  the  Highlands  on  each  basis  of  classification.^ 

From  this  table  it  appears  that  should  we  apply  as  the  urban 
standard  a  population  of  25,000  or  more,  in  order  to  distinguish 
1  For  more  detailed  data  see  I'ables  20  to  25,  Appendix  E. 

79 


THE  SOUTHERN  HIGHLANDER 


urban  from  rural  dwellers,  our  entire  urban  population  would  be 
confined  to  six  cities  (Wheeling  and  Huntington  in  West  Virginia, 
Knoxville  and  Chattanooga  in  Tennessee,  Roanoke  in  Virginia,  and 
Birmingham  in  Alabama)  and  would  number  321,31 1. 


TABLE  4. — \ 

JRBAN    AND     RURAL    POPULATION 
DIFFERENT  BASES.       I9 

COMPUTED 
10 

ON    FOUR 

Urban  mini- 
mum, used 

Number 
of  cities 

Urban  population 

Rural  population 

as  basis  of 
classification 

Number 

Per  cent 

Number 

Per  cent 

25,000 

1 0,000 

2,500 

1,000 

6 

21 

91 

247 

321,311 

541,730 
839,644 

1,098,349 

6.1 
10.2 
16.1 
20.6 

5,008,800 
4,788,381 
4,470,467 
4,231,762 

93-9 
89.8 

83.9 

79-4 

A  better  basis  of  classification  is  the  minimum  of  10,000  inhabi- 
tants, which  is  used  by  the  Census  Bureau  in  computing  mortality 
rates.  This  minimum,  however,  which  is  attained  by  only  2 1  cities, 
including  approximately  10  per  cent  of  the  entire  Highland  popu- 
lation, is  also  of  doubtful  value  as  applied  to  the  mountains  where 
even  the  smaller  towns  are  distinguished  in  comparison  with  the 
country  about  them  by  features  more  or  less  characteristically 
urban. 

On  the  basis  of  the  city  minimum  of  2,500  inhabitants,  which  is 
more  commonly  used  by  the  Census  Bureau,  approximately  16  per 
cent  of  the  mountain  population,  or  the  aggregate  population  of  91 
cities,  is  distinguished  as  urban,  while  approximately  84  per  cent 
is  rural.  We  make  use  of  this  division  to  approach  a  working  classi- 
fication of  the  mountain  population. 

The  urban  population  of  the  Highlands  as  thus  defined,  or 
859,644  people,  may  on  the  score  of  accessibility  and  character- 
istics generally  associated  with  city  life  be  considered  as  one  group; 
but  inasmuch  as  a  county-seat  or  a  county  center  of  1,000  inhabi- 
tants is  a  much  more  important  place  in  so  distinctively  rural  a 
section  than  is  a  similar  place  in  regions  more  populous,  we  include 
with  the  urban  what  we  call  the  near-urban  folk,  or  those  living  in 
incorporated  places  of  from  1,000  to  2,500  inhabitants.  We  may 
also  include  in  this  class  some  communities  of  smaller  size  situated 

80 


THE  PRESENT  HIGHLAND  POPULATION 

in  readily  accessible  fertile  coves  and  valleys,  and  some  industrial 
nuclei  which  are  more  or  less  difficult  of  access. 

Our  first  group  is  then  made  up  of  urban  and  near-urban  folk; 
and  as  there  were  according  to  the  census  of  1910,  1,098,349  people 
in  the  Highlands  living  in  incorporated  communities  of  1,000  and 
over,  we  may  approximate  the  number  of  this  group  as  a  million 
and  a  quarter.  It  is  composed  largely  of  those  who  have  been 
able  to  compel  their  environment  to  minister  in  large  part  to  their 
necessities,  and  who  through  co-operation  might  easily  carry  out 
measures  for  wholesome  community  life  where  it  does  not  exist. 
We  shall  in  the  course  of  this  study  have  little  occasion  to  refer 
to  this  part  of  the  mountain  population, ^  whose  characteristics  and 
problems  are  on  the  whole  not  different  from  those  of  groups  living 
in  similar  places  in  other  parts  of  the  United  States  and  who  need 
little  assistance  save  as  all  groups  need  touch  with  the  forces  work- 
ing for  social  advancement.  Our  attention  is  directed  for  the  most 
part  to  those  members  of  the  rural  population  who  for  one  cause 
or  another  are  living  under  the  extreme  limitations  of  more  dis- 
tinctly rural  life. 

Having  eliminated  the  group  just  described— those  in  places  of 
1,000  or  more  inhabitants,  in  industrial  nuclei,  and  in  the  most 
accessible  smaller  places — there  are  yet  4,000,000,  or  more  than 
three-quarters  of  the  total  population  remaining  in  the  rural  group. 
This  rural  population,  defined  as  consisting  of  those  dwelling  in 
communities  of  less  than  1,000  inhabitants,  in  scattered  hamlets 
and  in  isolated  homes,  may  be  divided,  although  not  entirely  on 
the  basis  of  locality,  into  our  second  and  third  groups. 

The  second  and  largest  group  is  made  up  of  the  more  or  less 
prosperous  rural  folk,  on  the  whole  perhaps  not  so  fortunate  as  in 
early  times  when  game  and  virgin  soil  gave  abundance  and  even 
luxury  as  measured  by  pioneer  standards.  While  members  of  this 
group  are  likely  to  live  in  comparatively  accessible  parts  of  the 
rural  districts,  near  the  mouths  of  creeks  or  rivers  or  along  main 
mountain  highways,  yet  in  sections  that  seem  to  the  traveler  very 
remote  and  inaccessible  are  families  which  have  always  been,  if 
one  may  trust  report,  what  a  mountain  economist  termed  "corn- 

1  Rural  mortality  statistics  in  Chapters  VI  and  X  are  based  on  an  urban  minimum 
of  10,000  inhabitants  and  therefore  refer  to  a  large  portion  of  this  first  group. 

81 


THE  SOUTHERN  HIGHLANDER 

sellers"  as  opposed  to  "corn-buyers."  On  the  basis  of  their  own- 
ings  and  their  more  generous  manner  of  living,  they  belong  clearly 
to  the  second  class  and  must  be  so  considered. 

The  third  class  is  small  as  compared  with  the  first  and  with  the 
second.  In  it  are  those  with  small  and  usually  poor  holdings,  in 
distant  coves,  at  the  heads  of  streams,  and  on  the  mountain  and 
hillsides,  tenants,  and  all  who  have  found  it  impossible  to  adapt 
themselves  to  the  changes  taking  place.  In  general  the  members 
of  this  group  may  be  designated  as  the  most  inaccessible,  but  in- 
dividuals properly  belonging  to  it  are  found  scattered  through 
areas  and  communities  occupied  by  the  other  two.  In  such  cases 
they  are  less  likely,  of  course,  to  be  owners  of  land,  and  more  likely 
to  be  renters  or  common  laborers  eking  out  a  precarious  existence. 

Because  of  the  impossibility  of  giving  separately  the  number  in 
the  second  and  third  groups,  of  necessity  they  have  been  enu- 
merated together.  To  some  it  would  seem  wise  to  regard  the  two 
as  but  one  group,  considering  what  we  call  our  third  as  the  helpless 
portion  of  the  second.  The  general  status  of  our  second  group  is, 
however,  so  high  as  to  necessitate  in  fairness  a  separate  classifi- 
cation. 

To  distinguish  our  second  and  third  groups  by  a  description  of 
family  status  and  living  conditions  is  difficult.  The  range  is  wide 
and  change  is  rapid.  Views  generally  accepted  are  based  upon 
observations  of  a  decade  or  two  ago.  This  is  not  to  say  that  these 
views  are  not  true  within  certain  areas  today,  but  conditions  were 
more  static  earlier  and  are  much  more  in  flux  today.  While  it  is 
possible  still  to  survey  a  community,  or  even  a  county,  and  to  draw 
true  pictures  of  the  various  groups  within  that  particular  area,  one 
is  less  able  than  in  the  past  to  make  such  a  survey  and  to  say  that 
what  is  found  is  typical  of  large  areas.  There  must  be  more  com- 
parison neighborhood  by  neighborhood  and  county  by  county. 

Distinctions  based,  at  least  in  part,  upon  diff"erences  in  living 
conditions  are  more  easily  discerned  by  the  traveler  through  the 
mountains.  One  who  has  enjoyed  for  a  night  the  hospitality  of  a 
more  prosperous  family  in  the  remote  Highlands,  carries  away  with 
him  a  pleasing  picture  of  the  comfort  and  simplicity  of  such  moun- 
tain life. 

Here,  where  the  bottom  land  along  the  creek  widens,  he  sees  at 

82 


THE  PRESENT  HIGHLAND  POPULATION 

the  end  of  a  day's  hard  ride  a  cluster  of  low  gray  buildings  flanked 
by  gnarled  and  untrimmed  apple  trees  and  backed  by  an  imposing 
row  of  bee-gums.  In  the  center  is  the  home  itself,  a  rambling  log 
house  grown  to  accommodate  successive  generations;  or  it  may  be 
a  more  pretentious  new  white  frame  house  trimmed  with  the 
bright  blue  so  dear  to  the  mountain  heart.  About  it  are  numerous 
smaller  buildings  generally  of  logs — loom-house,  "plunder  room," 
corn-crib  well  filled,  and  the  roomy  barn,  too  much  open  to  the 
elements  as  judged  by  an  eye  accustomed  to  barns  of  other  sec- 
tions but  well  supplied  with  fodder  for  all  the  stock. 

The  traveler  does  not  need  to  be  told  that  here  lives  Uncle  Big 
Jim  Franklin  who  "  keeps"  people  for  the  night.  Mallooing  at  the 
gate,  he  asks  the  woman  who  comes  to  the  door  if  she  can  accom- 
modate his  party  of  two,  three,  or  four,  as  it  may  be,  and  at  her 
assent  he  and  his  comrades  slip  wearily  from  the  saddle,  turn  the 
animals  over  to  a  son  of  the  house  or  to  the  hired  man  who  comes 
from  the  region  of  the  barn,  and  pass  through  the  paling  gate  and 
up  the  step  into  the  house. 

The  room  they  enter  is  plainly  furnished — a  bare  floor,  a  few 
chairs,  and  two  or  three  beds.  On  the  walls  hang  large  crayon 
portraits  of  father  and  mother,  with  their  first-born  in  her  arms, 
together  with  pictures  of  the  older  brother  or  the  little  sister  who 
died  (now  twenty  years  ago)  enlarged  from  some  crude  photo- 
graph or  tintype  taken  by  a  traveling  photographer.  Often  there 
is  an  organ,  and  the  guests  are  eagerly  urged  to  play. 

"Washing  up"  is  generally  relegated  to  the  porch,  and  fresh 
water  is  drawn  from  the  well  or  brought  from  the  spring  for  this 
purpose. 

By  this  time  the  fire  has  been  lighted  in  the  big  fireplace,  and  all 
gather  about  to  "warm."  Our  host,  it  seems,  is  getting  out  some 
of  his  timber,  and  after  a  brief  time  he  appears,  followed  at  in- 
tervals by  the  sawmill  hands  who  slip  in  unostentatiously  to  join 
the  group  about  the  hearth. 

Desultory  conversation  as  to  season,  crops,  and  timber  is  inter- 
rupted by  the  announcement  of  supper,  and  all  file  out  to  the  long 
table  set  in  a  room  near  the  kitchen.  Places  are  taken  without 
ceremony.  The  host  sits  at  the  head.  One  of  the  guests  is  gen- 
erally asked  to  return  thanks.    The  hostess  and  the  women  who 

83 


THE  SOUTHERN  HIGHLANDER 

are  helping  her  wait  upon  the  men  and  upon  the  guests.  There  is 
an  abundance  to  eat — pork,  usually  fried,  and  if  it  be  hog-killing 
time,  the  backbone  is  offered  as  a  great  delicacy;  fried  potatoes, 
cornbread,  hot  biscuits,  honey,  apple-butter  and  jellies  of  various 
sorts,  canned  peaches,  sorghum,  coffee,  sweet  milk  and  butter- 
milk, fried  chicken,  and  fried  eggs.  The  meal  is  not  interrupted 
by  much  conversation,  and  there  is  no  lingering  afterward.  Eating 
is  a  matter  of  business. 

Adjournment  to  the  fireplace  is  prompt,  and  the  women,  after 
eating  their  supper,  betake  themselves  to  the  kitchen  to  clean  up 
after  the  meal.  This  kitchen  is  an  interesting  place,  holding  as 
it  sometimes  does  both  the  old  and  the  new.  Here  is  the  modern 
cookstove,  on  which  supper  has  been  prepared,  and  where  now 
water  is  heating  for  the  dishes;  and  there  the  old  fireplace,  still 
used  by  some  in  the  preparation  of  certain  foods,  glows  with  the 
cheering  warmth  of  oak  or  hickory  embers. 

The  menfolk  have  in  the  meanwhile  become  better  acquainted, 
and  the  host  is  easily  persuaded  to  tell  of  early  days  in  the  moun- 
tains and  to  give  his  views  on  political  questions  in  which  he  is 
interested.  In  turn  the  guest  is  called  upon  to  give  an  account  of 
the  outside  world,  and  if  his  sojourn  there  has  been  within  the 
last  few  years  his  views  on  the  World  War  and  a  recital  of  its  out- 
standing events  are  eagerly  sought,  for  many  sons  of  the  mountains 
have  crossed  the  "great  waters,"  and  the  accounts  that  they  have 
sent  home  have  whetted  the  appetite  of  their  families  for  more 
information  as  to  submarines,  airplanes,  and  tanks,  and  of  the 
countries  of  the  Allies.  Surprising,  often,  is  the  accuracy  of  the 
observations  made  and  the  knowledge  shown  concerning  the  coun- 
tries at  war,  and  equally  surprising  are  some  of  the  deductions 
drawn.  The  right  and  wrong  of  the  various  questions  raised  is 
always  measured  by  the  Scriptures,  or  rather  by  the  speaker's 
interpretation  of  the  Scriptures.  England,  according  to  one  host, 
who  described  the  geography  of  Italy  with  great  accuracy,  was 
likely  to  be  punished  because  she  had  made  lords  of  some  of  her 
people,  and  the  Scriptures  plainly  taught  that  there  was  to  be  but 
one  Lord. 

The  evening  closes  with  our  host's  giving  his  views  as  to  how  cer- 
tain prophecies  of  the  Old  Testament  are  being  fulfilled  in  the  out- 

84 


THE  PRESENT  HIGHLAND  POPULATION 

come  of  present-day  events,  as  read  by  him  in  the  Toledo  Blade 
or  some  other  paper  to  which  he  subscribes.  It  is  all,  of  course,  his 
own  interpretation  of  the  events  about  which  he  may  have  read; 
or  if  he  be  illiterate,  of  reports  of  events  upon  which  he  has 
"studied." 

The  guests  have  hardly  closed  their  weary  eyes,  or  so  it  seems  to 
them,  when  they  are  called  to  arise.  It  is  long  before  day.  The 
surrounding  hills  are  not  yet  visible.  Making  a  hasty  toilet  they 
join  the  growing  group  at  the  fireplace,  where  they  await  sunrise 
and  breakfast.  This  early  rising  is  not  a  sign  of  pressing  haste. 
The  host  has  time  after  breakfast  to  take  the  visitors  several 
miles  into  a  rough  boundary  of  virgin  timber,  where  the  yellow 
poplar,  still  uncut,  rises  straight  and  tall  among  the  other  trees. 

One  who  in  foreign  lands  has  experienced  the  mental  struggle  as 
to  whether  to  offer  a  gratuity  to  the  lordly  personage  at  the  en- 
trance of  a  palace,  will  know  something  of  the  struggle  in  the  mind 
of  the  guest  in  parting  with  his  host.  The  hospitality  of  the  High- 
lander is  proverbial,  and  last  night's  guest,  now  his  personal 
friend,  would  not  insult  him  by  offer  of  payment.  After  a  number 
of  diplomatic  approaches  the  offer  is  finally  made.  It  may  be  re- 
jected. In  late  years,  however,  so  many  have  come  into  the  moun- 
tains upon  purely  business  matters,  sometimes  to  the  detriment  of 
the  mountain  people,  that  the  Highlander  has  become  accustomed 
to  strangers,  and  occasionally  strangers  are  "taken  in"  in  more 
senses  than  one.  So  the  guest  may  plead  the  largeness  of  the  party 
and  finally  secure  a  reluctant  assent  to  payment.  If,  however,  it  is 
known  that  the  traveler  is  in  any  way  connected  with  school 
work  or  church  work,  the  refusal  to  receive  payment  is  still  quite 
general. 

Frequently  at  parting  the  host  and  hostess  will  bring  a  little 
something  for  the  ladies  to  take  away — a  pocket  full  of  apples, 
walnuts,  or  hickory  nuts;  and  the  guests  ride  on  their  journey  with 
the  hearty  injunction  to  "come  by  soon  again." 

From  this  more  prosperous  type  of  mountain  home  the  homes 
grade  downward.  Differences  in  the  status  of  families  at  either  end 
of  the  group  are  sometimes  striking,  but  often  such  disparity  as 
exists  is  not  noticeable  save  in  the  size  of  the  houses  and  the  land 
holdings.    One  may  remark  a  less  bountiful  table  and  the  absence 

85 


THE  SOUTHERN  HIGHLANDER 

of  milk,  butter,  and  eggs,  breads  made  of  white  flour,  jellies,  and 
preserves.  He  may  note,  too,  if  he  is  observing,  less  stock  and  a 
scantier  farm  equipment;  but  the  life  of  this  class  is  homogeneous, 
and  the  absence  of  some  things  noted  in  the  homes  of  the  more 
well-to-do  is  not  of  necessity  an  indication  of  greater  poverty.  It 
may  be  merely  a  sign  of  greater  simplicity  in  the  tastes  of  a  family 
whose  standing  in  the  community  equals  that  of  the  more  pros- 
perous household  pictured  above. 

Almost  all  of  this  class  are  farmers.  There  are  some,  however, 
who  do  not  engage  actively  in  farming,  but  rent  out  their  lands  and 
give  their  personal  attention  to  "merchandising" — keeping  the 
country  store.  Usually  the  more  prosperous  store-keeper  is  also 
postmaster.  Others  supplement  their  farming  by  running  mills, 
grist  mills  and  sawmills,  the  latter  generally  of  the  portable  kind 
easily  moved  to  a  neighborhood  where  some  farmer  wishes  to  cut 
a  stand  of  timber.  Where  the  character  of  the  land  allows,  and 
where  local  ambition  has  led  to  the  planting  of  other,  than  the  uni- 
versal corn  crop,  the  owner  of  a  threshing  machine  increases  his 
income  by  going  about  threshing  the  crop  of  his  neighbors. 

The  second  class  has,  of  course,  its  professional  group,  of  whom 
the  doctors  and  lawyers  are  usually  congregated  in  the  county- 
seats.  They  generally  maintain  a  touch  with  the  soil,  and  many  of 
the  lawyers,  when  not  engaged  in  their  practice,  operate  farms 
personally  or  under  their  general  direction.  Some  of  the  doctors 
also  have  farms  under  their  supervision. 

A  number  of  the  native  ministers  have  partial  support  from  vari- 
ous church  boards  and  are  supposed  to  secure  the  rest  from  their 
charges  on  the  field;  but  many  of  them,  though  called  to  preach, 
make  their  own  living  from  the  farm.  There  are  exceptions  to 
this,  but  the  mountain  minister  gains  with  the  Highland  people  a 
certain  prestige  in  that  he  earns  his  living  from  pursuits  such  as 
their  own,  and  has  a  standing  with  large  numbers  because  he  is 
not  a  "factory  made"  preacher. 

There  are  very  few  professional  teachers.  Teaching  is  generally 
a  stepping-stone  to  something  else — to  law,  to  the  ministry,  or  to 
politics,  to  which  all  mountaineers  are  greatly  addicted. 

The  third  group,  while  smaller,  is  more  varied  in  character  than 
the  second.    The  stronger  members  are  those  who  have  in  them  the 

86 


THE  PRESENT  HIGHLAND  POPULATION 

potentialities  of  the  second  or  the  first  class — the  holders  of  small 
tracts  of  the  poorer  land  and  the  young  people  just  starting  out  for 
themselves,  whose  meager  home  equipment  would  mislead  the 
casual  observer  as  to  their  capacities.  In  this  group,  too,  are  the 
tenant  farmers.  These  are  not  nearly  so  numerous  as  in  the  Low- 
lands. Perhaps  it  is  not  yet  an  overstatement  to  say  that  nearly 
two-thirds  of  the  mountain  farmers  still  own  their  own  farms.  But 
tenancy  is  growing  as  the  more  well-to-do  feel  the  need  of  a  fuller 
life  for  their  children,  or  as  the  children  themselves  feel  this  need, 
and  the  family  moves  to  the  county-seat  or  out  of  the  mountains 
and  lets  out  the  old  homestead  to  "renters"  or  "croppers."  Too 
often  the  desire  in  the  children  to  leave  their  old  surroundings  is 
incited  by  the  ostentatious  dress  and  expenditure  of  those  whom 
shrewd  exploitation  of  mountain  resources  has  made  newly  rich; 
by  tourists,  or  even  more  unfortunately,  by  some  of  the  teachers 
from  the  outside  world  who  do  not  appreciate  the  simple  beauty 
of  many  aspects  of  the  Highlander's  life.  The  influence  of  the 
schools  themselves  in  this  movement  away  from  the  country, 
because  education  is  not  adapted  to  rural  life,  has  not  been  suffi- 
ciently recognized. 

Other  active  causes  of  tenancy  are  the  buying  up  of  large  tracts 
by  mining  and  lumber  companies.  One  cannot  forget  the  pathetic 
stories  of  some,  once  freeholders  of  the  second  class,  who  had 
fallen  into  the  third  class  and  were  unable  to  rise  again.  Tempted 
by  the  bait  prepared  for  them  by  agents  of  lumber  or  mining  com- 
panies, they  sold  their  land  and  moved  to  the  West,  where  "there 
warn't  no  tall  timber,  and  nary  spring  of  running  water."  Home- 
sick for  their  mountains,  they  had  returned  to  become  tenants  or 
squatters  upon  the  land  that  was  once  theirs,  graciously  allowed  to 
remain  by  those  who  had  despoiled  them,  as  payment  for  some  ser- 
vice of  profit  to  the  despoiler.  Perhaps  they  had  been  enticed  to 
the  cotton  mill  by  that  self-heralded  forerunner  of  the  millennium, 
the  mill  agent,  and  had  come  back  shattered  in  health  and  less  able 
than  before  to  meet  the  increasingly  hard  conditions  of  life  in  their 
old  environment. 

Among  the  homes  of  the  third  group,  as  would  be  expected,  may 
be  found  the  "typical"  one-room  log  cabin,  and  its  successor  the 
box-house,  hastily  constructed  of  rough  lumber.     Some  homes 

87 


THE  SOUTHERN  HIGHLANDER 

where  equipment  is  reduced  to  a  minimum  and  conveniences  of  all 
kinds  are  lacking,  are  yet  carefully  tended  and  dispense  a  clean 
and  cordial,  if  somewhat  limited,  hospitality.  Others,  equally  hos- 
pitable, are  far  from  clean.  One  is  at  times  forcibly  reminded  of 
the  words  of  Bishop  Asbury,  traveling  in  1803  the  Wilderness 
Road.  "The  people,  it  must  be  confessed,"  he  wrote,  "are  among 
the  kindest  souls  in  the  world  but  kindness  will  not  make  a  crowded 
log  cabin,  twelve  feet  by  ten,  agreeable."^ 

One  hesitates  to  portray  these  homes  which  have  been  described 
with  so  free  a  pen  in  literature  and  "missionary"  tracts,  the  more 
so  because  there  is  such  great  variety  in  them.  The  best,  which 
shade  imperceptibly  into  those  of  the  second  class,  show  evidences 
merely  of  a  picturesque  poverty .^  The  poorest  are,  in  their  sordid 
dirt,  confusion,  and  lack  of  all  comforts  unrelieved  save  by  the 
beauty  of  their  surroundings.  In  some  the  fireplace  is  still  the  only 
means  of  cooking,  and  the  food  in  quantity,  variety,  and  prepara- 
tion is  much  inferior  to  that  found  in  even  the  more  modest  homes 
of  the  second  class.  Among  the  very  poor,  cooking  dishes  are  at 
times  almost  entirely  wanting,^  the  same  utensil  being  used  again 

1  Journal  of  Rev.  Francis  Asbury,  Vol.  111.    New  York,  1821. 

2  "One  cabin  which  we  visited  near  the  foot  of  Pine  Mountain,  though  of  the 
better  sort,  may  be  taken  as  typical.  Almost  everything  it  contained  was  home- 
made, and  only  one  iron-bound  bucket  showed  the  use  of  hardware.  Both  rooms 
contained  two  double  beds.  These  were  made  of  plain  white  wood,  and  were 
roped  across  from  side  to  side  through  auger-holes  to  support  the  mattresses.  The 
lower  one  of  these  was  stuffed  with  corn-shucks,  the  upper  one  with  feathers  from 
the  geese  raised  by  the  housewife.  The  sheets,  blankets,  and  counterpanes  had 
all  been  woven  by  her,  as  also  the  linsey-woolsey  from  which  her  own  and  her 
children's  clothes  were  made.  Gourds,  hung  on  the  walls,  served  as  receptacles  for 
salt,  soda,  and  other  kitchen  supplies.  The  meat-barrel  was  a  section  of  log,  hol- 
lowed out  with  great  nicety  till  the  wood  was  not  more  than  an  inch  thick.  The 
flour-barrel  was  a  large  firkin,  the  parts  held  in  place  by  hoops,  fastened  by  an 
arrowhead  at  one  end  of  the  withe  slipped  into  a  slit  in  the  other;  the  churn  was 
made  in  the  same  way,  and  in  neither  was  there  nail  or  screw.  The  washtub  was 
a  trough  hollowed  out  of  a  log.  A  large  basket  was  woven  of  hickory  slips  by  the 
mountaineer  himself,  and  two  smaller  ones  made  of  the  cane  of  the  broom  corn 
and  bound  at  the  edges  with  coloured  calico,  were  the  handiwork  of  his  wife.  Only 
the  iron  stove  with  its  few  utensils,  and  some  table  knives,  testified  to  any  con- 
nection with  the  outside  world.  The  old  flint-lock  gun  and  powder-horn  hanging 
from  a  rafter  gave  the  finishing  touch  of  local  color  to  this  typical  pioneer  home. 
Daniel  Boone's  first  cabin  in  the  Kentucky  wilderness  could  not  have  been  more 
primitive." — Semple,  Ellen  Churchill:  The  Anglo-Saxons  of  the  Kentucky  Moun- 
tains: a  Study  in  Anthropogeography.  Vol.  XLII,  p.  lo-ii.  Reprinted  from 
Bulletin  of  the  American  Geographical  Society,  August,  1910. 

'  In  one  exceptionally  poor  cabin  where  there  were  father,  mother,  and  nine 
children,  the  cooking  outfit  consisted  of  one  pot,  one  bread  pan,  and  one  big  spoon. 

88 


THE  PRESENT  HIGHLAND  POPULATION 

and  again  for  numerous  household  purposes.  The  only  furniture 
of  which  there  is  a  generous  supply  is  beds,  three  or  even  four  being 
not  uncommon  in  one  room. 

There  is  little  privacy  in  such  homes,  but  the  stranger  who  may 
chance  to  spend  the  night  in  one  of  them  will  be  surprised  by  the 
delicacy  with  which  a  semi-privacy  is  often  insured  in  his  sleeping 
room,  shared,  of  necessity,  with  many  of  the  family.  It  cannot 
be  denied,  however,  that  for  those  predisposed  to  criminality,  these 
conditions  and  others  growing  out  of  them  give  opportunity  for  its 
indulgence. 

The  resentment  that  has  been  aroused  in  the  mountains,  and  the 
misunderstandings  that  have  been  spread  concerning  the  moun- 
taineer in  the  Lowland  South  and  throughout  the  North,  have  come 
generally  from  the  exaggeration  of  the  weaknesses  and  virtues  of 
individuals  in  the  third  group,  and  from  presenting  as  typical  the 
picturesque,  exceptional,  or  distressing  conditions  under  which 
some  of  them  live.  The  resentment,  not  unnaturally,  is  deepest 
in  the  hearts  of  those  of  the  first  and  second  groups  when,  through 
lack  of  qualification  they  are,  by  inference,  pictured  as  living  under 
such  conditions. 

The  opening  up  of  the  country  by  railroads  and  industrial 
development  is  making  rapid  changes  in  many  parts  of  the  moun- 
tains. The  wealth  that  has  come  accentuates  social  distinctions 
little  noted  in  the  days  when  the  mountaineers  subsisted  chiefly  by 
distinctively  rural  pursuits  and  lived  as  rural  folk.  The  gap  be- 
tween the  first  and  third  groups  has  been  widened,  and  while  many 
of  the  second  have  shared  in  the  increase  of  wealth  that  economic 
development  brings,  by  opening  to  them  near  at  hand  a  ready 
market  for  their  surplus  products,  all  of  the  group  by  no  means 
share  in  the  prosperity.  The  changes  that  one  notes  are  the  changes 
noted  everywhere.  Some  pass  into  the  first  group;  others  fall  into 
the  third,  through  their  inability  to  meet  the  demands  of  the  new 
life  arising  from  increase  of  population  and  the  passing  of  pioneer 
conditions  to  which  they  had  learned  to  adapt  themselves  well. 


89 


CHAPTER  VI 
INDIVIDUALISM  IN  VARIOUS  ASPECTS 

SPEAKERS  who  have  sought  to  raise  money  in  the  North  for 
mountain  work  have  been  wont  to  dwell  upon  the  part  played 
by  the  Highlander  in  the  Civil  War.  They  have  told  how  the 
Highland  South  was  thrust  like  a  Northern  wedge  into  the  heart  of 
the  Confederacy;  how  Highland  recruits  in  the  Federal  Army  ex- 
ceeded the  number  of  those  from  many  a  Northern  state,  and  how, 
like  their  famous  ancestors  at  King's  Mountain,  these  later  moun- 
tain heroes  went  out  and  turned  the  tide  of  war.  Such  statements, 
admittedly  true  of  the  Highland  country  in  large  part,  especially 
of  its  more  northerly  reaches,  have  not  been  accompanied  by  an 
explanation  of  the  causes  which  led  certain  sections  to  support 
Northern  arms.  The  impression,  therefore,  has  grown  that  the 
Highlander  is  in  reality  a  Northerner  in  a  Southern  environment. 
The  impression  is  far  from  the  real  truth. 

The  Highlander  is  a  Southerner  not  only  in  geographic  situation 
but  largely  in  sentiment  as  well,  although  the  circumstances  of  his 
environment  have  sometimes  aligned  him  with  the  North.  He  is, 
however,  first  of  all  a  Highlander,  and  those  without  his  favored 
land  are  "foreigners,"  be  they  from  North  or  Lowland  South. ^ 

If  the  question  were  submitted  to  an  impartial  jury  as  to  what 
is  the  chief  trait  of  Highland  people  the  world  over,  the  answer 
would  be  independence.  Should  one  ask  the  outstanding  trait 
manifested  by  the  pioneer,  the  reply  would  be  independence.  In- 
quire what  is  the  characteristic  trait  of  rural  folk,  particularly  of 
the  farming  class,  and  independence  will  again  be  the  answer.  Put 
the  query  as  to  what  is  the  prevailing  trait  of  the  American,  and 

1  Commenting  upon  this  use  of  the  word  "furriner"  as  applied  to  all  people  from 
without  the  mountains,  Kephart,  in  Our  Southern  Highlanders,  quotes  the  experi- 
ence of  a  traveler  who  aslted  a  native  of  the  Cumberlands  what  he  would  call  a 
"  Dutchman  or  a  Dago."  "Them's  the  outlandish,"  was  the  answer,  after  a  moment 
of  deliberation. —  Kephart,  Horace:  Our  Southern  Highlanders,  p.  17.  New  York, 
The  Outing  Publishing  Co.,  19 13. 

90 


INDIVIDUALISM  IN  VARIOUS  ASPECTS 

the  unanimous  verdict  is  likely  to  be  independence.  We  have, 
then,  in  the  Southern  Highlander,  an  American,  a  rural  dweller  of 
the  agricultural  class,  and  a  mountaineer  who  is  still  more  or  less 
of  a  pioneer.  His  dominant  trait  is  independence  raised  to  the 
fourth  power. 

Heredity  and  environment  have  conspired  to  make  him  an  ex- 
treme individualist.  In  his  veins  there  still  runs  strong  the  blood 
of  those  indomitable  forebears  who  dared  to  leave  the  limitations 
of  the  known  and  fare  forth  into  the  unknown  spaces  of  a  free 
land.  Year  by  year  they  lived  the  solitary  life  of  the  pioneer, 
pushing  on  to  south  and  west  along  the  extreme  border  of  the 
frontier;  and  generation  by  generation,  facing  alone  the  dangers 
and  the  hardships  of  the  wilderness,  they  learned  the  ways  of 
freedom.  From  among  them  in  the  Carolina  foothills  came.  May 
21,  1775,  the  first  Declaration  of  Independence,  whereby  "we  the 
citizens  of  Mecklenburg  County"  so  ran  the  document,  "abjure 
all  political  connection,  contract,  or  association  with  that  nation 
who  have  wantonly  trampled  on  our  rights  and  liberties,"  and  "do 
hereby  declare  ourselves  a  free  and  independent  people." 

In  the  Piedmont  of  Carolina  was  born,  too,  the  Regulation  move- 
ment, which,  though  characterized  by  the  colonial  governor  as 
"not  wanting  evidence  of  most  extravagant  licentiousness  and 
criminal  violences  on  the  part  of  that  wretched  people,"^  was  withal 
the  rising  voice  of  democracy  against  the  excesses  of  a  privileged 

1  From  a  letter  of  Governor  Martin  of  North  Carolina,  1772. — Colonial  Records 

IX,  pp.  357-358- 

"Bassett,  who  quotes  this  letter  in  his  account  of  the  Regulators  of  North  Caro- 
lina, describes  the  war  of  the  Regulators  not  as  an  attempted  Revolution,  but  a 
popular  uprising  against  corrupt  and  oppressive  methods  of  administration  em- 
ployed by  agents  of  the  government,  a  government  which,  however,  was  in  the 
hands  of  a  privileged  group  who  acknowledged  no  responsibility  to  the  people. 
The  movement  was  characterized  by  excesses  and  lack  of  organization,  and  was 
finally  brought  to  an  end  by  the  defeat  of  the  Regulators  at  Alamance,  1771.  It 
was  after  this  defeat  that  so  many  of  the  Regulators  moved  to  the  West.  Morgan 
Edwards,  who  visited  the  regions  of  the  Regulator  trouble  in  1772,  is  quoted  as 
writing:  '  It  is  said  1 500  departed  since  the  Battle  of  Alamance,  and  to  my  knowl- 
edge a  great  many  more  are  only  waiting  to  dispose  of  their  plantations  in  order  to 
follow  them.'  Bassett  suggests  that  had  the  Regulator  movement  not  been  de- 
feated, it  might  have  run  into  a  Revolution.  As  it  was,  it  had  no  connection  with 
the  Revolutionary  War.  He  adds  that  most  of  the  Regulators  were  Tories,  but  it 
is  assumed  that  he  does  not  refer  to  the  large  numbers  who  moved  West  to  the 
Watauga  region,  which  evinced  such  marked  loyalty  to  the  American  cause  in  the 
Revolution.''— Bassett,  J.  S.:  "The  Regulators  of  North  Carolina,"  in  Report  of 
the  American  Historical  Association,  1894,  pp.  210-212. 

8  91 


THE  SOUTHERN  HIGHLANDER 

and  corrupt  official  class,  a  voice  which,  silenced  for  the  time  and 
place,  found  later  expression  beyond  the  Blue  Ridge  in  the  forma- 
tion of  the  Watauga  Association,  the  first  free  and  independent 
community  on  the  continent  made  by  men  of  American  birth;  in 
the  struggle  carried  on  in  that  far  wilderness  for  the  cause  of 
American  independence;  and  again  in  1784  in  the  secession  of  the 
Association  from  the  mother  state^  of  North  Carolina  to  form  the 
new  and  independent  state  of  Franklin. - 

Not  less  the  lovers  of  freedom  were  those  frontiersmen  who 

.fought  their  way  against  hostile  Indians  across  the  Alleghenies  to 

southwestern  Pennsylvania,  where  lay,  it  will  be  recalled,  in  the 

counties  of  Westmoreland,  Fayette,  Washington,  and  Allegheny,  the 

third  reservoirofpopulationfromwhichthe  Highlands  were  supplied, 

"They  were,  in  fact,  a  warlike  race,"  writes  Brackenridge  of 
these  settlers;  "besides  their  Indian  Wars  they  had  sent  two  regi- 
ments to  aid  in  the  cause  of  independence.  The  facility  for  ob- 
taining land  was  no  doubt  a  great  inducement;  but  it  is  certain 
that  the  nucleus  of  these  settlements  was  composed  of  an  enter- 
prising and  intelligent  population,  and  who,  far  from  being  a 
lawless  people,  as  we  have  seen  it  the  case  in  some  of  our  new 
territories,  held  the  law  and  constituted  authorities  in  respect 
with  an  almost  religious  feeling."  ^ 

Yet  in  this  very  region,  so  strong  was  the  spirit  of  independence 
among  the  people  when  they  felt  that  their  rights  were  invaded,  was 
raised  in  1794  the  first  revolt,  the  Whiskey  Insurrection, against  the 
newly  organized  government  of  America,  a  step  barely  averted  in 
Virginia  and  western  North  Carolina*  by  the  mediation  of  Wash- 
ington and  by  extreme  concessions. 

1  This  was  before  North  Carolina  had  ratified  the  new  United  States  Constitution. 

2  See  note,  Chapter  III,  p.  29. 

^  Brackenridge  adds  further:  "The  number  of  very  superior  men  brought  on 
the  stage  by  the  western  Insurrection  cannot  fail  to  excite  surprise.  The  rapid 
increase  of  population  toward  the  close  of  the  Revolutionary  War,  somewhat  al- 
loyed the  original  character,  by  the  accession  of  numbers  among  whom  there 
was  a  proportion  of  desperate  characters;  and  although  the  farmers  were  orderly 
and  respectable,  many  of  them  possessing  considerable  landed  wealth,  yet  there 
were  others,  little  better  than  mere  squatters,  ready  to  engage  in  lawless  enter- 
prises at  the  instigation  of  a  popular  leader."— Brackenridge,  H.  M.:  History  of 
the  Western  Insurrection  in  Western  Pennsylvania,  Commonly  Called  the  Whiskey 
Insurrection,  1794,  p.  16.     Pittsburgh,  W.  S.  Haven,  1839. 

*  The  Whiskey  Insurrection  was  felt  by  Hamilton  to  be  an  important  test  of  the 
strength  of  the  new  government.     He  thus  wrote  to  Washington: 

"Besides  the  state  of  things  in  the  western  part  of  North  Carolina,  which  is 

92 


INDIVIDUALISM  IN  VARIOUS  ASPECTS 

A  century  passed;  cities  grew  within  the  greater  mountain 
valleys.  Railroads  and  highways  joined  the  life  of  the  urban  High- 
lands to  that  of  the  rest  of  the  country,  but  beyond  the  lines  of 
travel  within  the  ridges  and  smaller  valleys  the  isolated  existence 
of  the  pioneer  persisted  still,  little  trammeled  by  state  or  federal 
control.  His  independence  became,  indeed,  intensified.  Remote 
from  ordered  law  and  commerce,  the  Highlander  learned  by  hard 
necessity  to  rely  upon  himself,  in  frontier  fashion  he  responded 
to  calls  for  aid  in  clearing  land,  in  raising  homes,  and  in  other  enter- 
prises which  demanded  common  effort.  But  labor  of  this  sort  was 
free  and  voluntary,  controlled  only  by  such  public  opinion  as  could 
be  effective  in  a  region  rough  and  sparsely  settled.  Allegiance  he 
gave  to  no  one,  unless  he  chose  to  give  it.  Each  household  in  its 
hollow  lived  its  own  life.  The  man  was  the  provider  and  protector. 
He  actually  was  the  law,  not  only  in  the  management  of  affairs 
within  the  home,  but  in  the  relation  of  the  home  to  the  world  with- 
out. 

Circumstances  forced  him  to  depend  upon  his  own  action  until 
he  came  to  consider  independent  action  not  only  a  prerogative  but  a 
duty.  "We  are  not  easily  aware,"  says  Turner,^  writing  of  the 
traits  manifested  on  the  frontier,  "of  the  deep  influence  of  this 
individualistic  way  of  thinking  upon  our  present  conditions.  It 
persists  in  the  midst  of  a  society  that  has  passed  away  from  the 
conditions  that  occasioned  it."  Moreover,  in  many  sections  of  the 
mountains  all  conditions  that  produced  it  have  not  passed  away. 
The  temper  of  the  Highlander  is  in  fact  the  independent  democratic 
temper  of  the  frontiersman,  caught  between  the  ridges  and  hard- 
ened by  isolation  into  an  extreme  individualism,  while  the  frontier 
itself  has  passed  on  to  the  westward  and  vanished.  In  the  mean- 
known  to  you,  a  letter  has  just  been  received  from  the  supervisor  of  South  Carolina, 
mentioning  that  a  spirit  of  discontent  and  opposition  had  been  revived  in  two  of 
the  counties  of  that  state  bordering  on  North  Carolina,  in  which  it  had  been  appar- 
ently suppressed.  This  shows  the  necessity  of  some  immediate  step  of  a  general 
aspect,  while  things  are  preparing,  if  unhappily  it  should  become  necessary,  to  act 
with  decision  in  the  western  counties  of  Pennsylvania,  where  the  government  for 
several  obvious  considerations,  will  be  left  in  condition  to  do  it.  Decision  success- 
fully exerted  in  one  place,  will,  it  is  presumed,  be  efficacious  everywhere." — Works 
of  Alexander  Hamilton,  edited  by  Henry  Cabot  Lodge.  Vol.  \T,  p.  334,  in  Letter 
from  Hamilton  to  Washington. 

'Turner,  Frederick  Jackson:  "The  Significance  of  the  Frontier  in  American 
History,"  in  Report  of  the  .American  Historical  Association,  1893,  pp.  199-227. 

93 


THE  SOUTHERN  HIGHLANDER 

time  a  new  age,  one  that  calls  for  co-operative  service  and  com- 
munity spirit,  peers  over  the  mountain  barrier  and  with  puzzled 
and  critical  eye  views  this  individualism  not  as  a  natural  result  of 
conditions  which  could  not  be  controlled,  but  as  evidence  of  a  peo- 
ple strange  and  peculiar  and  somewhat  dangerous  withal. 

A  study  of  mountain  individualism  has  its  beginnings,  as  has 
been  suggested,  in  certain  aspects  of  pioneer  history  during  the 
latter  half  of  the  eighteenth  century.  It  is  to  this  period  that  we 
must  look  first  for  the  causes  which  were  instrumental  in  shaping 
the  relation  the  Highlander  was  to  bear  to  the  later  life  of  the 
nation,  and  in  particular  for  those  causes  which  had  their  influence 
in  the  part  so  many  Highlanders  took  in  the  Civil  War. 

It  will  be  recalled  that  the  early  mountain  population  was  re- 
cruited not  from  the  slave-holding  planters  of  the  Lowlands  but  in 
the  main  from  the  poor  but  vigorous  small  farmer  class  of  the  Pied- 
mont region,  men  who  reared  their  houses  and  tilled  their  fields 
with  their  own  hands.  Later  settlers  of  Lowland  birth  were,  too, 
in  many  cases,  small  farmers  who  had  been  driven  out  by  com- 
petition with  slave  labor.  A  few  among  them,  it  is  true,  held 
slaves  where  these  were  an  economic  asset.  Sevier,  we  are  told, 
farmed  his  rich  lands  on  the  south  bank  of  the  Nolichucky  with 
slave  labor,  and  there  were  some  slaves  early  in  the  Valley  of  Vir- 
ginia. Occasionally,  here  and  there,  prosperous  families  would 
bring  slaves  into  strictly  ridge  and  mountain  areas,  where  their 
descendants  may  still  sometimes  be  found. ^  Generally  speaking, 
however,  there  were  few  Negroes  in  the  Highlands  in  early  times. 
Their  number  has  gradually  increased  in  the  rich  valley  areas,  par- 
ticularly where  there  has  been  urban  or  industrial  development, 
but  they  have  never  become  a  factor  in  rural  mountain  life.  This 
is  due  somewhat  to  the  climate,  but  largely  to  the  fact  that  it  has 
not  been  possible  to  utilize  their  labor  advantageously  in  growing 
the  usual  crop,  corn,  in  the  narrow  valleys  and  on  the  steep  slopes 
of  the  more  mountainous  regions,  and  that  through  a  large  part 
of  the  Highlands  cotton  could  not  be  raised.    Even  in  recent  times 

^  In  one  very  remote  Highland  region  there  still  exists  a  small  community  of 
this  sort,  living  an  independent  and  respected  life.  Social  intercourse  would  seem 
not  to  be  familiar  between  the  two  races,  but  feeling  is  kindly,  and  instances  are 
known  where  colored  and  white  preachers  have  officiated  together  at  the  same 
funeral  meeting. 

94 


INDIVIDUALISM  IN  VARIOUS  ASPECTS 

there  have  been  very  rural  counties  without  a  single  Negro  inhabi- 
tant, and  where  it  was  unpleasant  if  not  unsafe  for  him  to  go.  "A  i 
no-tail  bear"  he  was  dubbed  by  a  terrified  child  who  beheld  him 
for  the  first  time.  The  attitude  of  these  counties  cannot  be  con- 
sidered as  typical,  for  in  parts  of  the  mountains  there  is  little  race 
prejudice,  while  in  other  parts  it  is  strong.  The  smallness  of  the 
Negro  population  in  the  Highlands  and  the  causes  which  led  to  it, 
however,  serve  to  indicate  why,  from  an  economic  standpoint  at 
least,  large  sections  of  the  Highland  South  were  in  sympathy  with 
the  North  on  the  Negro  question. 

There  were  other  early  causes  which  tended  naturally  to  bring 
about  a  difference  in  political  alignment  between  Highlands  and 
Lowlands.  For  many  years  after  the  Piedmont  region  and  the 
Valley  of  Virginia  were  well  settled,  control  of  governmental  affairs 
continued  to  lie  in  the  hands  of  the  older  Tidewater  aristocracy. 
The  struggle  between  the  aristocratic  planter  of  the  Lowlands,  with 
his  slaves  and  large  holdings,  seeking  to  maintain  the  privileges 
which  had  been  his  from  early  times,  and  the  new  small  hill  farmer 
determined  to  secure  fair  representation  in  the  councils  of  the  state, 
continued  from  the  eighteenth  into  the  nineteenth  centurw^ 

The  difference  in  interests  between  the  two  sections,  due  largely 
to  political  and  economic  reasons,  was  intensified  by  social  distinc- 
tions. Not  only  did  the  gentleman  planter  of  the  Tidewater  fear 
that,  should  control  of  government  pass  to  the  hill  country,  taxes 
for  internal  improvements  which  benefited  him  little  would  be 
levied  upon  that  part  of  his  wealth — slaves — which  was  practically 
non-existent  in  the  uplands,  but  he  dreaded  the  political  control  of 
those  whom  he  considered  his  social  and  intellectual  inferiors.  The 
fact  that  the  up-country  people  were,  before  the  Revolution,  pre- 
dominantly Presbyterian,  while  the  Tidewater  aristocracy  in  whose 
hands  lay  most  of  the  legislative  power  were  largeh'  of  the  Estab- 
lished Church,  was  an  additional  source  of  friction. 

Adjustments  in  representation  were  not  finally  made  until  the 

^  "In  Virginia,  in  1825,  for  example,  the  western  men  complained  that  twenty 
counties  in  the  upper  country,  with  over  two  hundred  and  twenty  thousand  free 
white  inhabitants,  had  no  more  weight  in  the  government  than  twenty  counties 
on  Tidewater,  containing  only  about  fifty  thousand;  that  the  six  smallest  counties 
in  the  state,  compared  with  the  six  largest,  enjo>ed  nearly  ten  times  as  much  poli- 
tical power." — Turner,  Frederick  Jackson:  "  1  he  Rise  of  the  New  West,  1819- 
1829."    In  The  American  Nation:  A  History,  pp.  31-32.    Harper  Bros.,  1906. 

95 


THE  SOUTHERN  HIGHLANDER 

first  quarter  of  the  nineteenth  century/  and  by  that  time  the 
Piedmont  region  had  become  more  closely  identified  with  Lowland 
interests  through  the  extension  of  slave  labor  and  the  cotton  in- 
dustry. In  the  meantime,  however,  many  of  the  discontented 
Piedmont  element  had  moved  on  into  the  mountain  country,  carry- 
ing with  them  an  intense  spirit  of  independence,  a  desire  for  self- 
government,  and  a  feeling  of  antagonism  toward  the  earlier  settled 
Lowland  regions. 

That  some  of  the  Piedmont  folk  who  passed  on  through  the 
mountains  and  settled  in  the  fertile  level  regions  to  the  west  should 
gradually  become  aligned  with  their  former  aristocratic  rivals  of 
the  eastern  coast,  was  determined  naturally  by  the  similarity  of 
their  economic  interests.  Equally  natural  was  it,  too,  that  large 
numbers  of  those  who  remained  in  the  Highland  region,  isolated  by 
ridges  and  rough  roads,  should  retain  their  old  traditions  and  pre- 
judices. They  held,  withal,  a  deep  though  distant  attachment  to 
the  Federal  Government,  for  which  they  had  fought  in  the  Revolu- 
tion, the  War  of  1812,  and  that  with  Mexico.  The  doctrine  of 
States'  Rights,  separated  from  its  slavery  bias,  was  but  an  abstrac- 
tion to  them.  With  the  outbreak  of  the  Civil  War,  West  Virginia, 
eastern  Kentucky,  and  east  Tennessee  were  found  quite  generally 
standing  firm  for  the  Union.  The  Highlands  of  North  Carolina 
and  Virginia  showed  a  larger  Confederate  element,  which  was  even 
larger  in  the  southerly  parts  of  the  mountain  country.^ 

In  the  little  community  toward  the  southern  end  of  the  moun- 
tains, where  the  writer  taught  his  first  school,^  were  many  veterans, 
some  from  the  Northern  but  more  from  the  Southern  armies.  At 
his  hearth  sat  often  a  man  who  had  stood  with  the  "Rock  of 
Chickamauga,"  and  another  who  had  starved  with  Pemberton  at 
Vicksburg  and  taken  his  tender  farewell  of  Lee  at  Appomattox,  and 
there  was  no  bitterness  or  rancour  between  them. 

In  another  community  near  the  southern  end  of  the  Highlands, 
so  many  were  the  representatives  of  either  side  that  a  Blue  and 

'  In  West  Virginia  not  until  it  became  a  separate  state  in  1863. 

2  It  has  been  estimated  by  some  that  the  proportion  in  the  North  Carolina  moun- 
tains was  about  half  and  half. 

'  This  region,  however,  was  not  generally  settled  until  after  the  war.  Many  of 
those  who  came  in  at  that  time  were  from  adjacent  Highland  sections,  but  there 
were  also  many  from  Lowland  areas. 

96 


A  Highland  Soldier  of  the  Ci\il  War 

The  bov  of  this  daguerreotvpe  had  "heart  and  cravin'  that  our  people  may  grow- 
better,''  and  in  his  old  age'ga\e  all  he  had  to  found  in  his  remote  community,  a 
school' which  should  teach  the  children  "books  and  agriculture  and  machinery  and 
all  kinds  of  labor  and  to  learn  them  to  li\e  up  as  good  American  citizens." 


c 
3 


c 


o 
E 

c 

o 

>. 

-a 
o 

c 

I/) 

a> 


3 


INDIVIDUALISM  IN  VARIOUS  ASPECTS 

Gray  Camp  was  organized.  On  the  Southern  Memorial  Day, 
veterans  in  tattered  uniforms  of  both  colors  marched  to  the  school 
hall  to  listen  to  declamations  on  patriotism  by  the  school  boys  for 
a  gold  medal  which  the  camp  itself  had  offered,  while  above  them 
on  the  one  side  hung  the  picture  of  Lee  beneath  the  Stars  and 
Stripes,  and  on  the  other,  framed  in  Southern  garlands,  the  picture 
of  Grant. 

An  amusing  illustration  of  the  different  feeling  existing  in  dif- 
ferent sections  is  shown  in  local  adaptations  of  two  old  English 
ballads,  the  one  from  northern  Georgia  and  the  other  from  Ken- 
tucky. That  from  Georgia,  known  as  "Jack  Fraser,"  recounts 
how  the  heroine,  "  dressed  in  men's  array,"  is  "  landed  in  the  wars  of 
Germany"  in  the  course  of  a  search  for  her  lover.  According  to 
a  version  frequently  sung  in  the  mountains  she  boldly  declares: 

"  It  would  not  change  my  countenance 
To  see  ten  thousand  fall,"  ^ 

The  sympathies  of  the  Georgia  singer,  however,  led  to  the  following 

rendering: 

"  It  has  never  dashed  my  countenance 
To  see  those  Yankees  fall. 
Oh — To  see  those  Yankees  fall." 

The  second  ballad,  on  the  other  hand,  collected  in  Kentucky  and 
locally  known  as  "  Pretty  Polly,"^  causes  the  villain,  addressed  in  a 
Child  variant  as  a  "  mansworn  man"^  to  receive  the  damaging  char- 
acterization: 

"  You  are  too  bad  a  rebel" 

It  is  probable  that  the  Highland  region  as  a  whole,  especially  the 
Highlands  of  Kentucky  and  Tennessee,  experienced  some  of  the 
bitterest  feeling  of  the  Civil  War.  The  roughness  of  the  country 
led  to  a  sort  of  border  guerrilla  w^arfare.  Roving  bands  from  both 
armies,  and  sometimes  independent  groups  of  "bushwhackers," 
wandered  the  hills,  robbing  and  murdering.     Many  are  the  tales 

1  "Jack  went  a-sailing."  See  Campbell  and  Sharp:  English  Folk  Songs  from  the 
Southern  Appalachians,  No.  55,  p.  189.    New  York,  G.  P.  Putnam's  Sons,  1917. 

2  Ibid.,  No.  2,  p.  3. 

'Child,  F.  J.:  English  and  Scottish  Popular  Ballads,  No.  4  H.  p.  6,  "May 
Collin."    Houghton,  Mifflin,  and  Co.,  1904. 

97 


THE  SOUTHERN  HIGHLANDER 

Still  told  of  the  suffering  of  those  days,  some  with  the  picturesque 
quality  seldom  absent  from  any  aspect  of  life  in  our  Southern 
Highlands. 

By  the  hearth-fire  of  a  mountain  home  in  the  border  country  of 
Tennessee  and  North  Carolina,  a  region  even  today  rough  and  iso- 
lated, the  writer  heard  from  a  woman  of  seventy  how  that  section 
in  wartime  had  been  harried  by  "rebel"  raiders.  Women  and 
children  were  imprisoned  in  a  big  log  house,  while  the  menfolk  fled 
to  the  mountain  tops  for  refuge.  Night  after  night  one  of  the 
women,  escaping  the  guard  when  darkness  fell,  would  steal  to  the 
mountainside  with  food  and  conceal  it  in  the  hollow  trunk  of  a 
certain  tree  where  the  fugitives  could  find  it.  Our  hostess,  at  that 
time  but  a  young  girl,  slipped  out  one  night  with  two  or  three 
companions  to  seek  for  the  body  of  a  kinsman  who  had  been 
killed,  so  they  had  heard,  by  pursuers  on  the  mountain.  She  drove 
a  young  mare  hitched  to  a  mountain  sled,  such  a  sled  as  may  be 
seen  today  on  almost  any  mountain  farm.  The  body,  which  had 
been  lying  out  for  several  days,  was  laid  on  the  sled  and  they 
started  down  in  silence  through  the  steep  black  forest.  At  one 
place,  where  her  companions  crossed  the  stream  by  the  foot-log, 
she  was  left  to  drive  through  the  dark  ford  alone  with  the  body. 
The  moon  struggling  through  the  clouds  shone  full  on  the  pale 
face  of  the  dead  man,  and  the  young  mare,  nervous  with  the 
unusual  conditions,  started  and  tried  to  run.  It  was,  the  narrator 
said,  the  "most  awful  time"  she  had  ever  experienced. 

It  may  be  said  in  passing  that  this  region  has  elected  but  one 
Democrat  to  office  within  the  memory  of  the  oldest  inhabitant. 
A  good-roads  campaign  is  alleged  to  have  been  the  occasion  of  the 
lapse  from  pure  Republican  principles.  The  voters  wished  the 
new  road  to  be  laid  along  a  certain  course,  and  they  feared  that 
personal  interest  would  influence  the  Republican  nominee  to  con- 
sider the  improvement  of  his  own  farm. 

That  there  were  many  Southern  sympathizers  in  sections  ad- 
mittedly largely  Union,  it  is  hardly  necessary  to  say.  A  friend 
of  the  writer,  "born  and  raised"  in  West  Virginia  shortly  after  the 
Civil  War,  in  a  county  which,  he  says,  was  practically  Northern 
in  spirit,  tells  how  his  father,  a  Kentucky  mountain  preacher  who 
had  left  his  native  state  because  of  the  threatened  outbreak  of  a 

98 


INDIVIDUALISM  IN  VARIOUS  ASPECTS 

local  feud,  brought  up  his  whole  family  to  be  anti-Union  and  fiery 
Democrats.  In  his  boyhood  the  Highlander  actually  believed,  he 
says,  that  in  the  North  a  wounded  Southern  soldier  would  have 
been  left  to  perish  from  neglect.  Restless  in  the  midst  of  Northern 
sentiment,  at  seventeen  he  slipped  away  and  returned  to  his 
father's  kindred.  Kentucky  was  a  revelation  to  him.  The  feud 
which  his  father  sought  to  escape  was  at  its  height;  the  boy,  who 
had  never  seen  a  murderer  and  but  one  man  who  had  served  a 
penitentiary  term,  was  not  only  a  witness  to  killings  but  himself 
shared  in  some  actions  of  the  "war."  But  while  the  immediate 
neighborhood  of  his  father's  old  home  was  still  Democratic  and 
hated  the  "Yankees"  as  fiercely  as  the  boy  did,  he  found  that  the 
country  all  about  was  Republican,  and  it  still  remains  so. 

In  a  section  not  far  removed  from  this,  the  writer  recalls  a  house 
marked  plainly  with  the  inscription,  "The  Corner  Stone  of  Democ- 
racy," to  indicate  to  a  Republican  community  the  political  senti- 
ments of  its  owner.  His  must  have  been  a  valiant  spirit,  for  so 
frequently  was  the  declaration  used  by  passing  neighbors  as  a 
target,  that  "the  corner  stone"  was  at  the  time  last  seen,  riddled 
with  bullet-holes. 

The  political  affiliations  of  the  Highlanders  make  an  interesting 
study.    Largely  a  result  of  war  and  pre-war  conditions,  they  still 
continue  to  be  molded  to  a  certain  extent  by  environment.    The 
Highlander  is,  in  other  words,  an  individualist  in  his  politics.    He 
cannot  be  depended  upon  to  go  with  the  "Solid  South."     Fre- 
quently, and  in  some  states  by  large  majorities,  he  votes  the 
Republican  ticket,  and  his  stand  upon  various  questions  is  opposed 
to  that  of  his  Lowland  kinsman.    The  natural  difference  between 
Highland  and  Lowland  interests  may  be  illustrated  by  the  recent 
defeat  of  a  good-roads  bill  in  one  of  the  mountain  states.     The 
mountain  portion  of  the  state,  after  a  strenuous  publicity  cam- 
paign, went  almost  universally  in  favor  of  the  bill,  which,  however, 
was  defeated  by  a  Lowland  majority.    The  reason  for  this  action 
on  the  part  of  the  Lowland  voter  is  alleged  to  have  been  that  the 
Lowland  section  already  had  many  good  roads  and  was  about  to 
build  more,  and  that  it  was  unwilling  to  have  so  much  state  aid 
diverted  to  the  mountains,  where  roads  were  not  only  poor  but 
road  building  very  expensive.    In  addition,  the  expense  would  fall 

99 


THE  SOUTHERN  HIGHLANDER 

mainly  upon  automobile  holders,  and  automobiles  were  far  more 
numerous  in  Lowlands  than  Highlands,  and  likely  to  be  for  many 
years. 

In  no  phase  of  mountain  life,  however,  can  one  generalize  from 
local  conditions.^  Counties  have  been  sometimes  gerrymandered, 
and  in  places  senatorial  districts  have  been  so  large  as  to  permit 
the  election  of  a  nominee  who  represented  a  party  majority  over  a 
considerable  area  rather  than  the  dominant  political  sentiment  of 
his  own  county.-  Again,  conditions  may  be  the  result  of  outright 
political  trading. 

The  Highlander  is  a  born  trader.  Indeed  his  faculty  in  this  line 
seems  little  short  of  genius.  Doubtless  the  scarcity  in  the  past  of 
actual  currency  in  the  mountains  has  contributed  to  his  pro- 
ficiency. It  used  to  be  the  writer's  wish  that  he  could  live  to  see  a 
mountaineer  trading  horses  with  a  Connecticut  "  Yankee."  The 
match  would  be  a  close  one,  but  the  odds,  he  believes,  would  not 
lie  with  the  Northern  competitor. 

If  the  reader  would  be  convinced,  let  him  go  to  a  Highland 
horse-swapping.  The  riders  spurring  up  and  down  the  creek  or 
Big  Road  present  a  stirring  scene,  and  much  may  be  learned  of 
trade.  A  mountain  neighbor,  especially  proficient  in  this  branch 
of  art,  once  sought  to  swap  an  ancient  mule  that  was  lame  in  one 
foot.  The  exchanges  that  he  made  were  many,  but  nightfall 
found  him  ambling  home  on  the  same  old  animal  with  one  dollar 
to  boot. 

With  such  incidents  in  mind  we  are  not  unprepared  for  the  keen 
relish  shown  in  parts  of  the  Kentucky  hills  for  the  "Swapping 
Song,"  reminiscent  not  only  of  Mother  Goose  but  of  recent  ex- 
periences: 

^  Fess  Whitaker,  in  his  electioneering  for  the  office  of  jailer  of  Letcher  County, 
says:  "I  told  them  in  a  very  funny  way  that  1  had  to  peal  to  Jenkins  very  hard 
because  she  had  votes  at  Dunham,  Burdine,  and  Jenkins  proper,  and  that  I  had 
none  at  home  because  1  lived  in  the  only  Democratic  precinct  in  the  county  and 
that  1  had  five  brothers,  forty-three  uncles,  two  hundred  and  seventy-one  first 
cousins,  and  Jeff  Ison,  my  father-in-law,  and  all  were  Democrats  and  1  was  the  only 
Republican." — History  of  Corporal  Fess  Whitaker,  Life  in  the  Kentucky  Moun- 
tains, Mexico,  and  Texas,  pp.  79-80.  Louisville,  Ky..  The  Standard  Printing  Com- 
pany, 1918. 

^A  few  years  ago,  one  mountain  state  senator  represented  ten  large  mountain 
counties  with  a  population  of  about  150,000,  as  against  some  Lowland  senators  who 
represented  two  small  counties  with  a  comparatively  small  population. 

100 


INDIVIDUALISM  IN  VARIOUS  ASPECTS 

"  1  swapped  me  a  horse  and  got  me  a  mare, 
And  then  1  rode  from  fair  to  fair. 

Tum  a  wing  waw  waddle, 

Tum  a  jack  straw  straddle, 

Tum  a  John  paw  faddle,  ^ 

Tum  a  long  way  home. 

I  swapped  my  mare  and  got  me  a  cow, 
And  in  that  trade  I  just  learned  how. 

1  swapped  my  cow  and  got  me  a  calf, 
And  in  that  trade  1  just  lost  half. 

I  swapped  my  calf  and  got  me  a  mule. 
And  then  1  rode  like  a  dog-gone  fool. 

I  swapped  my  mule  and  got  me  a  sheep. 
And  then  1  rode  myself  to  sleep. 

I  swapped  my  sheep  and  got  me  a  hen, 

0  what  a  pretty  thing  1  had  then. 

1  swapped  my  hen  and  got  me  a  rat, 
Looks  like  two  little  cats  upon  a  hay-stack. 

1  swapped  my  rat  and  got  me  a  mole. 

And  the  doe-gone  thing  went  straight  to  its  hole."^ 


Contracts  and  all  business  transactions  are  regarded  as  trades. 
The  foreigner  in  the  mountains,  struggling  to  light  his  stove  with 
soggy  chestnut  wood  which  he  ordered  as  hickory,  is  wont  in 
moments  of  discouragement  to  call  the  Highlander  dishonest.  Dis- 
honest he  is  sometimes,  but  more  often  his  is  the  attitude  of  the 
trader.  He  gives  you  credit  for  knowing  as  much  as  he  does,  and 
if  you  "catch  up  with  him"  he  thinks  the  more  of  your  ability.  If, 
on  the  other  hand,  you  try  to  deceive  him,  you  will  find  him  a 
shrewd  judge  of  human  nature,  whether  it  be  urban  or  rural;  and 
your  characteristics,  physical,  mental,  and  moral,  are  likely  to  be 
unsparingly  epitomized. 

Politics  naturally  offer  a  wide  field  to  his  trading  propensities, 
and  trading  is  unfortunately  many  times  interpreted  as  mere  buy- 

i"The  Foolish  Boy,"  in  Campbell  and  Sharp:  English  Folk  Songs  from  the 
Southern  Appalachians,  No.  115,  p.  313.    New  York,  G.  P.  Putnam's  Sons,  1917. 

lOI 


THE  SOUTHERN  HIGHLANDER 

ing  and  selling.^  It  has  been  claimed  by  some  of  Highland  birth, 
whose  familiarity  with  their  courts  through  official  position  entitles 
their  opinion  to  respect,  that  corruption  in  politics  and  elections, 
and  such  forms  of  crime  as  are  connected  therewith,  have  steadily 
increased  in  the  mountains  in  recent  years.  In  certain  sections 
liquor  has  been  brought  in  freely  at  election  times  and  election 
day  disgraced  by  drunkenness,  rowdyism,  and  the  more  or  less 
flagrant  selling  of  votes.  "Shameful,"  it  was  called  by  a  High- 
lander, a  native  himself  of  a  region  remote  from  contact  with  the 
outside  world;  and  he  added  that  even  in  a  case  where  a  number  of 
would-be  politicians  had  pooled  their  money,  they  were  known  to 
have  spent  more  in  the  pursuit  of  office  than  they  could  hope  ever 
to  secure  in  its  performance. 

It  should  not  be  inferred  that  conditions  throughout  the  High- 
lands are  worse  than  those  elsewhere,  but  practices  of  this  kind  are 
peculiarly  open  to  criticism  in  these  rural  areas,  since  the  manner  of 
the  individual's  life  is  more  generally  known  than  is  the  case  in 
urban  or  near-urban  regions.  Conditions  are,  however,  far  worse 
than  they  should  be  in  a  region  where  native  intelligence  is  high 
and  where  social  problems  are  uncomplicated  for  the  most  part  by 
the  presence  of  other  races.  Strong  causes  may  be  found  in  the 
high  rate  of  illiteracy  which  exists  over  large  areas,  and  in  the  lack 
of  social  ideals — both  closely  related  to  isolation  and  independence. 

As  might  be  expected,  interest  centers  in  local  rather  than  in 
national  or  even  state  politics.  The  election  of  a  President  is  not 
a  matter  of  deep  concern  to  the  Highlander,  nor,  in  the  past,  has 
the  course  of  his  life  been  greatly  affected  by  the  proceedings  of  the 
legislature  at  the  state  capitol.  Far  more  important  to  him  is  the 
election  of  county  superintendent  of  schools,  county  attorney,  or 
judge;  and  great  interest  is  usually  manifested  as  to  the  person 
of  the  circuit  judge,  for  on  his  attitude,  especially  in  very  rural 
sections,  depends  somewhat  the  freedom  with  which  certain  classes 
of  crime  may  flourish  abroad. 

The  office  of  sheriff  is  perhaps  the  object  of  keenest  competition 

1  "The  mountain  politician,  however,  is  often  a  trickster,  and  knows  all  the  by- 
paths of  political  chicanery  and  crookedness.  He  can  buy  votes  on  election  day 
without  the  slightest  moral  reservation  or  remorse  of  conscience." — Combs,  Josiah 
Henry:  The  Kentucky  Highlanders  from  a  Native  Mountaineer's  Viewpoint,  p.  23. 
Lexington,  Ky.,  J.  L.  Richardson  and  Company,  1913. 

102 


INDIVIDUALISM  IN  VARIOUS  ASPECTS 

— "sheriffing,"  as  its  pursuit  is  sometimes  called.  The  office  is  not 
an  easy  one,  and  great  credit  is  due  those  men  who,  in  the  face 
of  lax  and  sometimes  hostile  public  opinion,  have  the  courage  to 
carry  out  the  letter  of  the  law.  Such  a  sheriff  the  writer  recently 
met;  in  person  and  in  act  he  disproved  the  conception  held  by 
many  that  the  Highlander's  is  a  degenerate  and  dying  stock.  Above 
six  feet  in  height,  powerful  in  body,  and  fearless  in  purpose,  he  had, 
with  the  assistance  of  his  deputies,  captured  forty-two  stills  during 
one  year  of  his  office,  nine  of  them  in  one  week,  destroyed  the  tubs 
of  some  eight  or  ten  more  where  the  stills  had  been  hidden,  and 
had  arrested  or  indicted  about  seventy-five  moonshiners;  and  this 
in  a  country  exceedingly  rough  and  when  some  of  the  stillers  were 
armed  and  desperate.  He  had  with  him,  it  is  true,  the  general 
sentiment  of  a  county  tired  of  crime  and  anxious  to  be  rid  of 
liquor,  which  contributed  so  largely  to  it — an  attitude  far  more 
common  in  the  Highlands  than  is  generally  supposed. 

The  Highlander  is,  however,  a  clannish  person,  and  he  does  not 
like  either  to  inform  on  his  kinfolk  or  to  witness  against  them  in 
court — obstacles  to  justice  peculiarly  effective  in  a  country  where 
most  of  the  inhabitants  are  more  or  less  closely  connected  by  ties 
of  blood.  As  an  individualist  he  has,  too,  an  instinctive  sympathy 
with  the  person  under  arrest,  unless  that  person  has  been  guilty 
of  an  offense  against  himself.  Evidence  thought  secure  sometimes 
melts  away  in  the  publicity  of  the  court  room,  and  a  verdict  of 
"not  guilty"  may  be  secured  when  knowledge  of  the  offender's 
guilt  is  quite  general  throughout  the  community. 

In  the  performance  of  his  duties  as  principal  of  a  mountain 
school,  the  writer  at  one  time  became  involuntarily  involved  in  the 
attempted  prosecution  of  a  group  of  moonshiners.  The  news  of 
the  "Professor's"  participation  spread  rapidly  through  the  coun- 
tryside, and  he  received  many  secret  visits  from  men  with  whom  he 
had  had  no  previous  acquaintance,  who  wished  to  inform  him  about 
the  moonshine  activities  of  certain  of  their  neighbors.  One  in  par- 
ticular, an  elderly  man  with  long  gray  hair,  who  assumed  an  air  of 
deepest  mystery,  asserted  that  his  own  cousin  was,  b\'  his  stilling 
activities,  "breaking  up  the  church  and  ruining  the  >outh  of  the 
country."  When  the  listener,  impelled  by  curiosity,  ventured  to 
ask  his  visitor  how  he  had  come  to  inform  upon  a  kinsman,  a  prac- 

103 


THE  SOUTHERN  HIGHLANDER 

tice  SO  uncommon  in  the  Highlands,  the  reply  came  that  the  suspect 
was  a  bad  man  and  was  thought  by  the  informant  to  have  killed  a 
sheep  belonging  to  him.  All  information  furnished  in  this  manner 
was  to  be  regarded  by  the  recipient  as  strictly  confidential  and  was, 
in  point  of  fact,  of  little  practical  value.  Much  of  the  evidence  was 
circumstantial,  and  hope  of  bringing  the  men  to  trial  rested  largely 
upon  the  judge,  who  had  been  a  heavy  drinker  in  youth  but  had 
reformed  and  could  be  relied  upon  to  fight  the  liquor  interests.  It 
was  learned  later  that  three  of  the  best-known  moonshine  suspects 
awaited  the  outcome  of  the  hearing  prepared  for  flight.  One,  at 
the  top  of  a  hill  where  he  could  overlook  the  court  house,  sat 
mounted  on  his  mule,  and  when  the  signal  came  drove  in  his  spurs 
and  crossed  the  line  to  South  Carolina.  The  second  fled  to  North 
Carolina;   the  other  to  Wisconsin. 

Of  all  phases  of  mountain  life  having  root  in  individualism,  those 
of  moonshining  and  the  feud  are  the  ones  most  commonly  attri- 
buted to  the  mountaineer  and  most  widely  advertised.  Some  of 
our  readers,  possibly,  have  wondered  why  it  was  that  the  moon- 
shiner and  feudist  were  not  mentioned  in  the  classes  discussed  in 
the  previous  chapter.  Had  public  opinion  among  those  who  do 
not  know  the  mountaineer  been  followed,  they  would,  doubtless, 
have  been  listed  with  the  professional  groups  of  the  second  class. 
As  a  matter  of  fact  they  are  not  limited  to  any  class.  They  may 
be  found  in  all  of  our  mountain  classes,  although  they  form  a  very 
small  proportion  of  the  whole. ^ 

The  moonshiner,  as  he  is  called  without  the  mountains,  or 
blockader,  as  he  is  more  commonly  known  within  them,  is  one  who 
engages  in  the  illicit  distilling  of  spirituous  liquors.  Secrecy  is  nec- 
essary for  this  practice,  and  he  is  called  moonshiner  because  it  is 
supposed  that  he  engages  in  his  illicit  traffic  on  moonlight  nights 
when  there  is  enough  light  to  make  work  easy  and  enough  dark- 
ness to  make  him  secure.  To  dispose  of  the  product  of  his  still, 
he  or  his  confederates  must  run  the  blockade  thrown  about  the 

1  A  Highlander  who  has  occupied  posts  of  responsibility  in  his  county  and  state, 
thus  expresses  himself  on  this  point  in  a  persona!  letter  to  the  writer:  "  I  want  to 
say  that  in  all  the  feuds  and  in  all  the  moonshining  only  a  bare  remnant  of  the 
population  were  engaged  notwithstanding  what  any  yellow  journal,  parson,  or 
novel-writer  may  have  said.  I  mean  for  'yellow'  to  apply  to  all  of  them.  A  'tink- 
er's dozen'  of  mountain  out-laws  can  get  more  notoriety  from  such  people  as  these 
than  all  the  out-laws  in  the  entire  country." 

104 


INDIVIDUALISM  IN  VARIOUS  ASPECTS 

sale  of  liquor  by  government  officials.  He  is,  therefore,  regarded  as 
a  blockade  runner,  or  "blockader."  While  he  may  ply  his  trade 
with  the  assistance  of  but  one  or  two  associates,  he  is  often  a  mem- 
ber of  a  ring  made  up  of  men  of  different  groups,  all  of  whom  have 
more  or  less  to  do  with  the  making  or  retailing  of  illicit  liquors. 
There  doubtless  are  in  the  mountains  many  of  these  whiskey  rings, 
but  one  may  travel  long  distances  without  seeing  a  sign  of  liquor, 
and  should  one  unacquainted  in  a  neighborhood  and  who  has  not 
the  "open  sesame"  seek  to  procure  it,  difficulties  would  at  once  be 
apparent.  In  places,  however,  where  public  opinion  is  lax,  liquor  is 
retailed  quite  openly. 

Any  teacher  in  charge  of  a  school  in  the  Highlands  is  likely  to 
come  into  contact  with  this  moonshine  problem  sooner  or  later. 
At  times  it  becomes  to  him  a  very  potent  source  of  trouble,  espe- 
cially when  liquor  is  conveyed  to  boys  who  are  under  his  charge. 
An  occasion  of  this  sort  brought  the  writer  at  one  time  into  open 
conflict  with  what  proved  to  be  a  ring  of  blockaders.  One  group 
acted  as  manufacturers  in  the  mountains;  a  second  as  middlemen 
in  the  neighborhood  of  the  school;  and  a  third  as  traders  in  the 
Lowland  counties,  swapping  the  moonshine  for  cattle  and  driving 
the  cattle  back  into  the  hills.  Several  personal  friends  and  school 
patrons  were  in  the  ring,  and  although  later  forced  to  pay  the 
penalty  they  seemed  to  bear  the  school  authorities  no  ill-will.  They 
had  matched  their  wits  against  ours  and  had  lost— that  was  all. 
They  admitted,  moreover,  that  the  president  of  the  college  and 
his  colleagues  would  have  been  unworthy  of  their  trust  if  they 
had  not  fought  the  ring,  and  that  they  themselves  would  not 
have  cared  to  have  their  own  children  under  less  conscientious 
tutelage. 

Later,  when  the  practice  was  revived  and  it  was  necessary  for 
the  president  to  be  away  for  several  months  on  an  endowment  cam- 
paign, word  was  sent  to  him  that  he  need  not  be  anxious  about  his 
boys.  The  blockaders  would  see  to  it  that  no  liquor  was  brought 
to  town  in  his  absence.  They  kept  their  promise  while  he  was 
away,  but  soon  after  his  return  the  familiar  signal  of  three  hoots  of 
an  owl,  or  three  shots  at  regular  intervals,  broke  the  stillness  of  the 
night,  and  those  who  had  been  a-thirst  during  his  absence  were 
glad  again.    He  was  regarded  not  so  much  as  an  unfriendly  oppo- 

105 


THE  SOUTHERN  HIGHLANDER 

nent  as  a  "foeman  worthy  of  their  steel,"  and  the  situation  was 
again  "up  to  him." 

A  steady  and  rehable  student  admitted  in  a  moment  of  con- 
fidence when  leaving  school  that  he  had  made  a  portion  of  the 
money  which  had  maintained  him  during  the  term  by  assisting  dis- 
tillers in  his  home  neighborhood.  His  father  did  not  know  of  it 
and  would  have  been  opposed  to  it,  but  he  slipped  out  from  home 
at  night.  "  Hit  hain't  nary  bit  o'  use,  Perfessor,"  he  went  on,  "to 
tell  me  hit  does  harm.  Why!  up  in  my  country  [a  county  notorious 
at  that  time  for  moonshining]  a  young  feller  don't  think  no  more  of 
asking  a  girl  to  take  a  drink  of  liquor  than  he  does  here  to  ask  her  to 
take  a  buggy-ride.  I  got  two  aunts,  one  eighty  and  one  ninety, 
and  both  of  them  have  drank  liquor  all  their  lives."  Discounting 
what  a  student  may  tell  a  professor,  especially  upon  parting,  this 
statement  illustrates  the  attitude  held  toward  the  use  of  liquor  in 
certain  neighborhoods. 

Moonshining  is  due  primarily  to  economic  reasons.  It  is,  too,  an 
easy  way  to  make  money.  It  is  condoned  as  a  protest  against  a 
system  of  taxation  which  appears  to  give  special  privilege  to  few 
on  the  basis  of  a  money  standard  merely.  Yet  in  this  country  of 
paradoxes  many  mountain  counties  were  dry  before  their  states 
went  dry,  and  furthermore,  popular  opinion  in  many  other  coun- 
ties has  long  been  against  the  manufacture  and  use  of  liquor.  This 
is  not  altogether  due  to  moral  reasons.  The  absence  of  a  rural 
constabulary,  and  the  sad  results  arising  from  the  practice  of  drink- 
ing and  carrying  guns,  have  served  to  reinforce  moral  causes  and 
to  create  sentiment  against  liquor. 

Changes  have  been  so  rapid  in  the  mountains  in  this  regard  as 
in  others  as  to  make  incidents  based  upon  observations  a  few  years 
ago  somewhat  untrustworthy,  yet  they  will  serve  to  show  attitudes 
that  still  prevail.  On  a  journey  through  a  mountain  county  some 
time  ago,  the  writer  passed  beside  the  Big  Road  a  still  operated 
under  a  federal  license,  although  in  that  county  local  sentiment 
was  against  the  use  of  liquor.  Where  there  is  such  a  conflict  it  is 
little  wonder  that  moonshining  is  increased.  The  mountaineer 
argues,  whether  justly  or  unjustly,  "So  and  so  can  get  government 
sanction  for  distilling  because  he  manages  by  hook  or  crook  to  get 
money  for  his  license.     If  it  is  right,  the  poor  man  ought  to  have 

106 


INDIVIDUALISM  IN  VARIOUS  ASPECTS 

the  same  chance  as  the  rich."  In  this  case  the  charge  was  made 
that  the  holder  of  the  Ucense  had  bought  it  with  money  made  by 
illicit  stilling. 

in  a  state,  dry  presumably  throughout  its  territory,  the  law  a  few 
years  ago  was  openly  violated  in  its  capital  city.  The  moonshiner 
arrested  for  making  and  selling  blockade  liquor  in  the  mountains 
and  led  to  the  federal  court  in  the  capitol  to  answer  for  his  crime, 
would  pass  by  saloons  running  in  open  defiance  of  the  state  law 
and  serving  liquor  which  might  have  been  made,  so  far  as  the 
prisoner  knew,  in  this  dry  state  under  a  federal  license,  is  it  to  be 
wondered  at  that  he  should  become  confused  and  fail  to  see  the 
justice  of  his  arrest,  or  that  when  arrested  and  out  on  bail  awaiting 
trial,  he  should  continue  to  make  moonshine  to  pay  his  lawyer  and 
lay  by  something  toward  the  support  of  his  family  in  the  event 
of  his  conviction,  a  situation  not  uncommon  in  the  past?  The  jus- 
tice of  the  Highlander's  position  is  further  strengthened  in  his 
mind  by  the  thought  that  his  corn,  raised  with  hard  labor  and  sold 
at  small  profit,  will  bring  four  to  five  times  as  much  a  bushel  when 
distilled  into  whiskey.  This  is  a  strong  argument  with  poor  men 
having  large  families. 

As  has  been  suggested,  moonshining  is  not  new  in  the  Highlands, 
nor  was  its  practice  unknown  among  the  ancestors  of  the  High- 
land people  before  they  came  to  this  country.  Like  the  ballads  it 
has  survived,  and  has  survived  in  the  mountains  longest  because 
the  conditions  there  have  been  suited  to  its  survival. 

Brackenridge  has  given  an  interesting  review  of  the  history  of 
the  Western  Whiskey  Insurrection  in  Pennsylvania,  to  which  ref- 
erence was  made  at  the  beginning  of  this  chapter: 

The  four  western  counties  at  the  time  of  the  Western  Insurrec- 
tion, or  riots  (Westmoreland,  Fayette,  Washington,  and  Alle- 
gheny) contained  about  70,000  inhabitants,  scattered  over  an 
extent  of  country  nearly  as  great  as  that  of  Scotland,  or  Ireland. 
Except  Pittsburgh,  which  contained  about  1,200  souls,  there  were 
no  towns  except  the  few  places  appointed  for  holding  the  courts  of 
justice  in  each  county.  There  v/ere  scarcely  any  roads,  the  popu- 
lation had  to  find  their  way  as  they  could  through  paths  or  woods, 
while  the  mountains  formed  a  barrier  which  could  only  be  passed 
on  foot  or  horse-back.  The  only  trade  with  the  east  was  by  pack- 
horses;    while  the  navigation  of  the  Ohio  was  closed  by  Indian 

9  107 


THE  SOUTHERN  HIGHLANDER 

wars,  even  if  a  market  could  have  been  found  by  descending  its 
current. 

The  farmers,  having  no  market  for  their  produce,  were  from 
necessity  compelled  to  reduce  its  bulk  by  converting  their  grain 
into  whiskey;  a  horse  could  carry  two  kegs  of  eight  gallons  each, 
worth  about  fifty  cents  a  gallon  on  this,  and  one  dollar  on  the  other 
side  of  the  mountains,  while  he  returned  with  a  little  iron  and 
salt,  worth  at  Pittsburgh,  the  former  fifteen  to  twenty  cents  a 
pound,  the  latter  five  dollars  per  bushel.  The  still  was  therefore 
the  necessary  appendage  of  every  farm,  where  the  farmer  was  able 
to  procure  it;*  if  not,  he  was  compelled  to  carry  his  grain  to  the 
more  wealthy  to  be  distilled.  1  n  fact  some  of  these  distilleries  on  a 
large  scale  were  friendly  to  the  excise  laws,  as  it  rendered  the  poorer 
farmers  dependent  on  them. 

Such  excise  laws  had  always  been  unpopular  among  the  small 
farmers  in  Great  Britain;  they  excited  hatred,  which  they  brought 
with  them  to  this  country,  and  which  may  be  regarded  as  heredi- 
tary. Scarcely  any  of  the  causes  of  complaint  which  led  to  the 
Revolution  had  so  strong  a  hold  upon  the  people  of  Pennsylvania 
as  the  Stamp  Act,  an  excise  regarded  as  an  oppressive  tax  on 
colonial  industry.  Every  attempt  of  the  colony  or  state  to  enforce 
the  excise  on  home  distilled  spirits  had  failed;  and  so  fully  were 
the  authorities  convinced  that  they  could  not  be  enforced,  that 
the  last  law  on  the  subject,  after  remaining  a  dead  letter  on  the 
statute  book,  was  repealed  just  before  the  attempt  to,  introduce 
it  under  the  Federal  financial  system,  by  the  Secretary  of  the 
Treasury,  Alexander  Hamilton.  The  inequality  of  the  duty 
between  the  farmers  on  the  west  and  on  the  east  side  of  the 
mountains  could  not  fail  to  strike  the  most  common  mind;  for 
the  rate  per  gallon  on  both  sides  was  the  same,  yet  the  article  on 
the  west  was  worth  but  half  of  that  on  the  other  side.  There 
were,  moreover,  circumstances  necessarily  attending  the  collection 
of  the  tax,  revolting  to  the  minds  of  a  free  people.  Instead  of  a 
general  assessment,  a  license  system  confined  to  a  few  dealers  on 
a  large  scale,  or  an  indirect  tax  on  foreign  imports,  while  in  the 
hands  of  the  importers  or  retailers;  this  tax  created  a  numerous 
host  of  petty  officers  scattered  over  the  country  as  spies  on  the 
industry  of  the  people  and  practically  authorized  at  almost  any 
moment  to  inflict  domiciliary  visits  on  them,  to  make  arbitrary 
seizures,  and  commit  other  vexatious  acts;  the  tax  was  thus 
brought  to  bear  on  almost  each  individual  cultivator  of  the  soil.^ 

*  "  For  these  reasons  we  have  found  it  absolutely  necessary  to 

'  Brackenridge,  H.  M.:  History  of  the  Western  Insurrection  in  Western  Penn- 
sylvania, Commonly  Called  the  Whiskey  insurrection,  1794,  p.  16.  Pittsburgh, 
W.  S.  Haven,  1859. 

108 


INDIVIDUALISiM  IN  VARIOUS  ASPECTS 

introduce  a  number  of  small  distilleries  into  our  settlements,  and 
in  every  circle  of  twenty  or  thirty  neighbors,  one  of  these  are 
generally  erected,  merely  for  the  accommodation  of  such  neighbor- 
hood, and  without  any  commercial  views  whatever." — Petition 
of  the  I  nhabitants  of  Westmoreland  County,  1 790.  Pennsylvania 
Archives,  XI,  671. 

Kephart,  in  his  volume  on  the  Southern  Highlander,  brings  the 
history  of  excise  laws  as  they  affected  the  mountains  up  to  com- 
paratively recent  times.^  The  excise  law  of  Hamilton  was  repealed 
in  1800,  when  Jefferson  became  President;  re-enacted  as  a  war 
measure  in  the  War  of  181 2;  repealed  in  1817;  and  not  re-enacted 
again  until  1862,  during  the  Civil  War.  Since  then  the  activity  of 
the  moonshiners  has  varied  with  its  profitableness.  In  late  years 
state  prohibitory  laws  have  increased  activity  in  certain  quarters 
under  the  temptation  afforded  by  whiskey  at  $18  to  $40  per  gallon. 
The  high  price,  brought  about  by  a  limited  supply,  has  added  mone- 
tary stimulus  to  the  natural  protest  and  also  led  to  very  harmful 
adulterations. 

An  old  acquaintance  of  the  writer,  yielding  to  the  temptation, 
was  wont  to  make  one  gallon  of  moonshine  do  service  for  two  or 
three  by  diluting  it  with  water  and  mixing  it  with  lye  or  tobacco  to 
give  it  a  bite,  and  with  Gold  Dust  washing  powder  for  the  bead.^ 
As  a  result  one  of  his  patrons  was  found  dead  by  the  roadside  one 
autumn  morning.  It  had  been  the  practice  in  the  neighborhood  to 
leave  a  jug  in  a  brush  heap  with  a  cup.  The  patron,  watched  from 
some  secure  vantage  point,  would  take  what  he  wished  and  leave 
payment  in  the  cup.  In  other  places  there  would  be  a  bell-tree,  or  a 
hollow  trunk,  which  yielded  its  store  when  the  bell  was  rung.  In 
thecase in  point, circumstantial  evidencewas  strong,  but  the  difficul- 

1  Kephart,  Horace:  Our  Southern  Highlanders,  Chapter  VHI.  New  York,  The 
Outing  Publishing  Company,  191 3. 

'^"When  it  comes  to  concoctions  used  as  a  substitute  for  liquor  by  the  inhabi- 
tants of  many  sections  of  the  country  where  statutory  prohibition  prevails,"  says 
the  .\shc\\\\c  Ga-^dtc  News  of  January  6,  1916,  "officials  of  the  internal  revenue 
bureau  are  not  easily  shocked.  Howe\  er,  there  was  genuine  amazement  over  a 
drink  recipe  figuring  in  a  North  Carolina  moonshine  case,  it  appears  that  two 
moonshiners  got  into  a  quarrel  with  the  result  that  one  went  into  court  and  exposed 
the  business  secrets  of  the  other.  Here  is  the  recipe  for  the  latest  North  Carolina 
'temperance  tipple'  called  "white  lightning':  'One  bushel  corn  meal,  100  pounds  of 
sugar,  two  boxes  of  lye,  four  plugs  of  tobacco,  four  pounds  of  poke  root  berries,  two 
pounds  of  soda.  Water  to  measure  and  distill.'  I'his  recipe  is  for  fourteen  and  one- 
half  gallons  of  the  'third  rail'  liquor." 

109 


THE  SOUTHERN  HIGHLANDER 

ties  in  getting  convincing  proof  were  many.  A  verdict  of  homicide  was 
rendered  by  the  jury,  but  the  evidence  was  of  such  nature  as  to 
lead  soon  to  a  pardon. 

With  the  passage  of  the  Prohibition  Amendment  to  the  Consti- 
tution, distilhng  in  the  mountains  has  become  less  a  phase  of  in- 
dividualism peculiar  to  the  Highlands,  and  is  taking  on  more  and 
more  the  characteristic  features  of  the  problem  all  over  the  United 
States.  This  is  especially  true  where  the  country  has  been  recently 
opened  up  by  railroads,  highways,  and  industrial  projects  of  dif- 
ferent kinds.  In  one  such  county  adjoining  the  one  in  which  the 
sheriff  cut  up  forty-two  stills  in  a  year,  where  coal  mining  is  now  ex- 
tensively developed,  officers  cut  up  fifty  stills  in  ten  days. 

In  another  section,  not  in  the  coal  region  but  recently  made 
accessible  by  a  good  road,  automobiles  from  urban  centers  can  in 
a  night  come  almost  to  the  distillers'  door  and  escape  with  the  booty 
in  the  darkness.  As  a  result  moonshining  has  greatly  increased.  It 
was  claimed  here  that  a  bushel  of  corn,  which  under  ordinary  cir- 
cumstances would  bring  but  $1.50  to  $2.00  a  bushel  in  the  market, 
could,  by  distilling  and  adulteration  with  water  and  extracts  of  lye 
and  buckeye,  be  made  to  yield  ^53.  A  more  recent  claim  is  made  of 
two  gallons  of  whiskey  produced  from  one  bushel  of  corn  and  sold 
at  S40  a  gallon. 

What  the  ultimate  result  of  the  prohibition  amendment  will  be 
is  as  yet  problematic,  but  it  is  likely  to  be  wholesome  if  the  moon- 
shiner is  brought  to  see  that  one  law  applies  to  all  and  is  enforced 
against  all.  At  present  whiskey  is  being  made  very  freely.  "In 
County  alone,"  a  Highland  lawyer  writes,  "there  were  sev- 
eral hundred  persons  indicted  at  the  last  term  of  court  for  selling 
and  making  whiskey.  This  is  true,"  he  adds,  "through  the  moun- 
tain section,  as  the  people  are  engaging  in  it  more  now  than  ever. 
However,  there  are  being  steps  taken  to  stop  the  making  and  sale 
of  whiskey,  which  will  bring  about  better  conditions  in  the  near 
future." 

There  has  always  been  an  intimate  connection  between  whiskey 
and  feuds.  It  was  thus  explained  by  a  mountain  friend  and  one- 
time feudist,  who  had  given  expression  to  the  fear  that  the  wide- 
spread renewal  of  drinking  in  his  neighborhood,  due  to  unmolested 
stills,  would  lead  to  a  revival  of  the  local  feud,  dormant  for  some 

1 10 


•  INDIVIDUALISM  IN  VARIOUS  ASPECTS 

years.  As  he  put  it,  "The  older  folks  are  tired  of  fighting,  but  the 
young  folks  get  to  drinking  this  white  lightning,  and  shootings  and 
killings  result.  Then  the  older  people  are  drawn  in  again,  and  the 
feud  is  on  once  more."  The  general  "toting"  of  pistols,  a  part  of 
their  manhood  creed,  is  a  contributing  cause.  The  attitude  is  that 
of  a  gentleman  of  old,  ready  at  all  times  to  defend  his  personal 
honor  or  the  honor  of  his  family  by  his  own  prowess,  it  would 
seem  incongruous  to  see  in  court  a  lawyer  whose  pocket  was  bulg- 
ing with  an  ill-concealed  weapon,  prosecuting  a  case  in  which  the 
defendant  was  brought  to  trial  for  an  offense  resulting  from  his 
having  carried  concealed  weapons.  Such  inconsistencies  were  not 
uncommon  some  years  ago.  The  law  was  in  advance  of  public 
opinion. 

Miscarriages  of  law  and  justice  have  been  perhaps  the  greatest 
cause  of  keeping  up  feuds,  if  not  of  originating  them.  "The  great- 
est and  most  direct  cause  of  the  '  old  feuds,'  "  says  a  Highland  friend 
who  had  the  courage  in  his  youth  to  stop  a  feud  by  refusing  to 
avenge  the  death  of  a  near  relative,  "was  the  fact  that  the  people 
who  engaged  in  them  lived  in  an  isolated,  out-of-the-way,  law- 
forsaken  mountain  section,  far  removed  from  the  courts,  and  when 
an  offender  was  brought  into  court  he  was  generally  turned  loose 
to  run  at  large  among  the  near  relatives  of  him  whom  he  had  slain. 
These  people  having  trusted  their  rights  to  the  courts  of  justice  (?) 
and  finding  their  trust  betrayed,  and  the  offender,  the  slayer  of 
their  brother  or  son,  insulting  them  with  his  very  presence  and 
most  often  with  taunts,  'took  the  law  into  their  own  hands,'  and 
killed.  The  killing  of  one  naturally  led  to  the  killing  of  others,  and 
each  one  killed  brought  other  relatives  and  friends  into  the  fray, 
and  hence  the  feuds." 

The  situation  was  thus  forcibly  put  by  another  mountain  friend 
in  reply  to  a  criticism  of  the  Highland  feud:  "  You  know  folks  are 
mostly  related  in  this  country.  If  1  get  into  trouble,  even  if  I  am 
not  to  blame,  there  is  no  use  of  going  to  law  if  the  judge  is  kin  to 
the  other  side,  or  if  the  lawyer  has  succeeded  in  getting  his  own 
men  on  the  jury,  it  doesn't  make  any  difference  what  the  evi- 
dence is,  the  case  goes  the  way  they  want  it  to  go.  Then  there  is 
nothing  for  me  to  do  but  to  accept,  and  let  them  throw  off  on  me 
as  a  coward,  if  1  stay  in  the  country;   to  leave  the  country  and 

1 1 1 


THE  SOUTHERN  HIGHLANDER 

give  up  all  1  own,  and  still  be  looked  at  as  a  coward;  or  to  get  my 
kinfolk  and  friends  together  and  clean  up  the  other  crowd.  What 
would  you  do?" 

The  original  causes  of  many  feuds  were  often  very  trivial,  and 
sometimes  lost  in  obscurity.  These  'wars"  involved  some  of  the 
best  and  some  of  the  worst  people  in  the  mountains,  and  they  were, 
therefore,  at  times  unspeakably  brutal,  and  at  other  times  touched 
with  chivalry  and  romance. 

Romantic  are  the  tales  of  the  young  daughter  of  a  feudist  chief, 
who  rode  alone  by  night  the  twenty  rough  miles  from  one  county- 
seat  to  another  to  carry  messages  and  give  her  kinfolk  warnings. 
In  a  war  raging  in  another  county  a  chivalrous  incident  relieves 
some  of  the  more  revolting  features  of  such  strife.  Two  young  men 
— we  will  call  them  Brown  and  English — prominent  on  opposite 
sides  of  a  feud,  had  in  addition  to  the  feud  animosity  a  personal 
quarrel,  and  were  watching  for  a  chance  to  shoot  each  other.  Both, 
heavily  armed,  had  on  a  certain  day  visited  the  county-seat  but 
had  not  met.  English  left  first  in  his  wagon.  Brown  riding  out 
later  and  suddenly  rounding  a  turn  of  the  road,  saw  English  ahead, 
all  unconscious  of  his  nearness  and  with  pockets  bristling  with 
firearms.  Three  courses  presented  themselves  to  him;  he  could 
easily  shoot  English  in  the  back  and  escape  without  danger;  he 
could  turn  and  ride  back  to  town,  or  he  could  pass  English  and  run 
the  risk  of  being  shot  himself.  The  first  course  would  have  been 
the  natural  one  in  such  warfare,  but  it  was  repellent  to  him;  the 
second  was  cowardly;  therefore,  without  increasing  his  speed,  he 
advanced  as  quietly  as  possible,  with  head  straight  to  the  front 
and  pistols  in  their  holsters.  From  the  corner  of  his  eye  he  saw  his 
foeman  start  and  thrust  his  hand  to  his  pocket,  then  pause,  pistol 
half  drawn  as  the  thought  seemed  to  come  to  him  that  he  had  been 
completely  in  his  enemy's  power  and  ere  now  might  himself  have 
been  shot.  Still  without  turning  his  head  or  accelerating  his  pace. 
Brown  rode  on  and  out  of  sight,  feeling,  he  afterward  said,  "a  ball 
in  his  back  at  every  step."  From  that  time  the  two  men  preserved 
a  silent  truce  with  each  other,  while  the  war  raged  on  between 
factions.  Many  years  later  when  the  feud  had  ceased  they  worked 
together  harmoniously  in  civil  office,  but  they  never  addressed  each 
other  except  as  duty  made  it  imperative. 

I  12 


INDIVIDUALISM  IN  VARIOUS  ASPECTS 

In  only  one  feud,  so  far  as  is  known  to  the  writer,  was  there 
dehberate  kilHng  of  women  and  children,  and  this  was  waged  across 
state  lines.  There  have  been  numerous  cases  where  a  noted  feudist 
is  said  to  have  appeared  in  public  in  absolute  safety,  although  foes 
on  every  side  were  lying  in  wait  for  him,  because  he  was  accom- 
panied by  his  wife  or  children  or  had  in  his  arms  his  young  baby. 

While  feuds  have  existed  in  many  parts  of  the  mountain  country, 
the  most  extensive  and  widely  known  have  taken  place  in  Ken- 
tucky. The  name  commonly  applied  to  the  feud  in  Kentucky  is 
"war,"  and  the  principle  upon  which  it  was  carried  on  was  the 
principle  of  warfare — to  do  as  much  harm  to  the  enemy  as  possible 
while  incurring  the  least  risk  oneself. 

The  theory  that  the  feudist's  method  of  fighting  his  foe  from  am- 
bush is  a  survival  of  frontier  methods  against  the  Indians,  cannot 
be  substantiated.  Instances  are  not  lacking  in  present  days  where 
Highlanders,  opposed  to  each  other,  employed  man  to  man  the 
same  code  in  fighting  as  their  pioneer  ancestors,^  or  the  cowboy  of 
a  half  century  ago.  However  much  the  brutality  of  such  early  en- 
counters may  be  deplored,  there  was  a  certain  code  of  honor  ob- 
served. They  were,  however,  affairs  of  man  to  man,  and  as  a  rule 
not  family,  clique,  nor  clan  matters  fought  under  the  principle  of 
warfare.  They  were  "magnificent,  but  not  war."  While  men  of 
lower  grade  in  the  Highlands  undoubtedly  did  vent  personal  spites 
in  cowardly  ambush,  yet  if  one  keeps  in  mind  the  times  when  the 
great  feuds  were  raging,  the  conditions  of  the  courts,  and  the  gen- 
eral attitude  toward  feuds  as  expressed  in  the  word  "war,"  one 
has  a  better  vantage  point  for  judgment. 

1  "To  settle  minor  disputes  and  difTerences,  whether  for  imaginary  or  real  per- 
sonal wrongs,  there  were  occasional  fisticulTs.  Then,  it  sometimes  occurred  in 
affairs  of  this  kind,  that  whole  neighborhoods  and  communities  took  an  interest. 
1  have  known  county  arrayed  against  county,  and  state  against  state,  for  the  belt 
in  championship,  for  manhood  and  skill  in  a  hand-to-hand  tussel  between  local 
bullies.  When  these  contests  took  place,  the  custom  was  for  the  parties  to  go  into 
the  ring.  The  crowd  of  spectators  demanded  fairness  and  honor.  If  anyone  was 
disposed  to  show  foul  play  he  was  withheld  or  in  the  attempt  promptly  chastised 
by  some  bystander.  Then,  again,  if  either  party  in  the  fight  resorted  to  any 
weapons  whatever,  other  than  his  physical  appendages,  he  was  at  once  branded  and 
denounced  as  a  coward,  and  was  avoided  by  his  former  associates.  While  this  cus- 
tom was  brutal  in  its  practice,  there  was  a  bold  outcropping  of  character  in  it,  for 
such  affairs  were  conducted  upon  the  most  punctilious  points  of  honor." — .\rthur, 
John  Preston:  Western  North  Carolina,  a  History  (from  1730-1913).  p.  274. 
Raleigh,  N.  C,  Edwards  and  Broughton,  1014. 

Arthur  quotes  from  Dr.  C.  D.  Smith's  Brief  History  of  Macon  County. 

113 


THE  SOUTHERN  HIGHLANDER 

The  feud  leader  was  often  a  political  chieftain.  He  may  not 
have  been  so  ostentatious  as  the  city  "boss,"  wont  to  don  his  silk 
tile  and  frock  coat  in  attending  the  funeral  of  his  henchman's 
baby,  but  his  relations  to  his  followers  were  much  the  same.  He 
held  a  patriarchal  attitude  toward  them,  helping  them  in  all  times 
of  need  and  expecting  help  in  return.  There  were,  too,  at  times, 
hired  "gunmen"  as  in  modern  cities.  One  of  the  last  of  the  great 
feuds  to  die  out  in  the  mountains  was  of  this  general  character. 
Its  end  was  hastened  by  the  action  of  the  daughter  of  the  slain  man, 
who  went  about  herself  collecting  evidence  against  the  murderers 
of  her  father  and  brought  the  case  to  trial. 

It  is,  of  course,  possible  that  there  may  still  be  fitful  outbreaks  of 
old  animosities  in  certain  localities,  but  they  are  becoming  increas- 
ingly improbable.  Feuds  have  passed  forever  from  large  areas  of 
the  mountains. 

The  passing  of  the  feud,  however,  does  not  mean  that  the  High- 
lander has  ceased  to  be  an  individualist  in  what  he  considers  the 
administration  of  justice.  The  feeling  still  exists  that  a  man  has 
the  right,  if  he  so  wishes,  to  take  the  law  into  his  own  hands,  a 
conviction  voiced  in  the  declaration  of  one  Highlander  that  he 
would  not  hesitate  to  "kill  any  man  who  needed  killing."  The 
implication  of  this  remark  is  the  stronger  coming  as  it  did 
from  a  man  who,  although  he  lived  in  a  remote  section,  was  pro- 
gressive in  thought,  far-sighted,  and  of  unusual  beauty  of  character. 

The  popular  impression  that  homicide  is  a  common  feature  of 
mountain  life  has  long  prevailed.  While  complete  and  accurate 
statistics  are  impossible  to  obtain  for  many  parts  of  the  region, 
sufficient  data  for  19 16  are  available  to  throw  light  on  the  point. 
Table  5,  including  six  of  the  nine  mountain  states — Kentucky, 
Maryland,  North  Carolina,  South  Carolina,  Tennessee,  and  Vir- 
ginia— has  been  compiled  from  federal  and  state  reports,  or,  where 
these  did  not  furnish  data  on  a  county  basis,  from  material  sup- 
plied through  the  courtesy  of  state  officials. 

It  is  to  be  noted  that  the  homicide  rates  which  are  given  in  the 
table  for  the  Highland  regions  are  designated  as  rural  rates,  but 
as  they  are  mortality  rates,  they  are  computed  on  the  basis  of  an 
urban  minimum  of  10,000  inhabitants.  They  should  not  be  taken, 
therefore,  as  applying  only  to  the  more  strictly  rural  population, 

114 


INDIVIDUALISM  IN  VARIOUS  ASPECTS 

classes  two  and  three  as  defined  in  Chapter  V.  In  view,  however, 
of  the  generally  rural  character  of  the  Highlands,  they  are  more 
indicative  of  conditions  prevailing  than  are  rates  which  include 
the  larger  cities.  This  is  the  more  true  in  that  the  Negroes  in  the 
Highland  region  are  congregated  mainly  in  urban  and  industrial 
centers,  and  the  Negro  homicide  rate  is  commonly  high. 

TABLE    5. — HOMICIDE    RATES     PER     100,000     POPULATION     FOR    THE 
MOUNTAIN  AND  NON-MOUNTAIN  REGIONS  OF  SIX  SOUTHERN 
HIGHLAND    STATES.       I916 


Rural 

Urban 
and 

State 

Blue 

Ridge 

Belt 

Greater 

Allegheny- 

Total 

Non- 

rural 

Appa- 
lachian 

Cumber- 
land 

moun- 
tain 

moun- 
tain 

Total 
state 

Total 

Valley 

Belt 

region 

region 

state 

Kentucky 

10.5 

10.5 

74 

8.4 

9-95 

Maryland 

47 

37 

2.3 

6.4 

5.6 

7.0 

North  Carolina 

8.5 

8.5 

77 

7.8 

8.4 

South  Carolina 

6.3 

6.3 

12.8 

12.0 

'3  3 

Tennessee 

8.2 

8.5 

10.3 

8.9 

12.6 

I  I.O 

19.0 

Virginia 

6.0 

4.8 

16.3 

8.1 

10.5 

94 

1 1.9 

Total  (6  states) 

7-3 

6.8 

10.9 

8.5 

9.6 

9-3 

134 

That  the  Negro  homicide  rate  is  disproportionately  high  and 
does  raise  the  total  rate  not  only  in  the  urban  centers  of  the  Low- 
lands but  in  rural  parts  of  both  Highlands  and  Lowlands,  may  be 
gathered  from  Table  6,  which  shows  white  and  colored  rates  for 
North  Carolina,  the  only  state  where  this  comparison  was  possible. 
As  there  were  no  homicides  recorded  in  1916  for  the  city  of  Ashe- 
ville,  which  alone  in  the  Highlands  of  this  state  attained  the  mini- 
mum of  10,000  inhabitants,  the  urban  homicide  rate  given  for  the 
North  Carolina  mountain  region  is  zero. 

Table  5  shows  for  the  six  states  as  a  whole  a  higher  homicide  rate 
for  mountain  than  for  non-mountain  regions.  For  North  Carolina 
the  lowland  rate  is  almost  as  high  as  that  for  the  mountain  region, 
but  as  is  shown  in  Table  6  this  is  due  to  the  influence  of  the  Negro 
rate,  which  is  high  in  both  uplands  and  lowlands.  While  the  total 
rural  rate  for  the  mountain  portion  of  the  state  is  8.5  per  1 00.000 
compared  with  7.7  for  the  lowlands,  the  white  rural  rate  for  the 
mountain  region  is  7.5  compared  with  3.2  for  the  lowlands. 

1 15 


THE  SOUTHERN  HIGHLANDER 

TABLE  6. — WHITE  AND  NEGRO  HOMICIDE   RATES   PER    100,000   POPU- 
LATION,  FOR  THE  MOUNTAIN  AND  NON-MOUNTAIN  REGIONS  OF 
NORTH  CAROLINA.       I916 


Rural 

Urban 

Total  State 

White 

Negro 

Total 

White 

Negro 

Total 

White 

Negro 

Total 

Mountain  re- 
gion 

Non-mountain 
region 

7-5 

3-2 

20.8 
13.5a 

8.5 

77 

0 

1 1.7 

0 

28.7 

0 

18.1 

7-2 
3-9 

17.4 
16.7 

8.2 
8.5 

Total  state 

4.2 

15.8 

7.8 

10.2 

26.3 

16.1 

4-7 

.6.7 

8.4 

a  Exclusive  of  Yadkin  County,  where  Negro  population  is  not  given. 


Making,  however,  due  allowance  for  the  high  homicide  rate 
among  the  comparatively  small  Negro  population  in  the  High- 
lands, the  rural  rate  of  mountain  homicides,  8.5  per  100,000,  is  yet 
a  high  one  as  compared  with  that,  5.2,  for  the  entire  rural  registra- 
tion area  of  the  United  States.  It  is  higher  than  that  of  the  rural 
part  of  any  state  outside  the  mountains  within  the  United  States 
registration  area  for  deaths  except  California,  13.3,  and  Mon- 
tana, 13.9,  and  is  approached  only  by  Colorado,  8.0.  The 
rates  for  the  rural  regions  of  the  remaining  states  of  the  regis- 
tration area  descend  from  5.7  per  100,000  in  Kansas  to  0.8  in 
New  Hampshire. 

A  study  of  homicide  rates  by  belts  and  by  counties  in  the  High- 
land region  of  the  six  states  for  which  data  were  secured  is  of 
interest.  It  is  dangerous  to  draw  conclusions  from  figures  the  ex- 
actness of  which  is  limited  by  the  many  difficulties  attending  the 
collection  of  vital  statistics  in  the  Highlands,^  and  with  which  there 
are  no  data  of  a  decade  or  more  ago  to  serve  as  a  basis  of  com- 
parison. It  is,  however,  worth  noting  that  the  rates  within  the 
Allegheny-Cumberland  Belt  are  conspicuously  higher  than  in  the 
Valley  and  in  the  Blue  Ridge  section.  This  probably  can  be  attrib- 
uted to  the  greater  industrial  development  of  this  belt  which  in- 
cludes almost  all  of  West  Virginia.  Rates  were  found  to  be  espe- 
cially high  in  those  counties  where  mining  operations  are  being 

^  For  a  fuller  statement  see  Chapter  X,  p.  207. 
I  16 


INDIVIDUALISM  IN  VARIOUS  ASPECTS 

carried  on.  For  example,  in  1916  the  tiiree  largest  coal  producing 
counties  of  the  Allegheny-Cumberland  Belt  of  Virginia — Tazewell, 
Russell,  and  Wise — show  homicide  rates  respectively  of  15.4,  14.8, 
and  39.3  per  100,000,  while  across  the  state  line  in  the  recently 
developed  fields  of  Kentucky,  the  largest  coal  producing  counties — • 
Pike,  Bell,  Perry,  Harlan,  and  Letcher — show,  respectively,  rates  of 
18.7,  24.6,  30.4,  63.5,  and  77.9  per  100,000.  Examination  of  the 
number  of  mine  employes  in  these  counties  reveals  that  where  the 
miners  form  the  largest  per  cent  of  the  population  the  homicide 
rates  are  highest. ^ 

The  fact  that  the  lower  of  the  rates  just  given  are  in  a  number  of 
instances  equaled  or  surpassed  by  the  homicide  rates  of  other  coun- 
ties both  in  this  belt  and  in  the  Blue  Ridge  and  Greater  Appa- 
lachian Valley  Belts, compels  caution  in  drawing  conclusions.  Some 
of  the  high  rates  in  other  than  coal  mining  regions  are  in  counties 
that  have  a  comparatively  large  Negro  population,  and  it  is  pos- 
sible that  this  may  account  in  part  for  the  large  number  of  such 
deaths.  For  any  definite  conclusion  it  would  be  necessary  to  know 
the  local  factors  that  enter  into  these  rates  both  in  mining  and  non- 
mining  counties.  One  somewhat  familiar,  however,  with  condi- 
tions existing  in  and  about  new  mining  communities  in  the  High- 
lands, need  feel  no  hesitation  in  calling  attention  to  the  likelihood 

'  A  report  of  the  U.  S.  Geological  Survey,  Coal  in  1917  (Part  A.  Production),  fur- 
nishes the  number  of  miners  in  certain  counties  and  makes  possible  the  following 
comparison  between  homicide  rates  and  the  per  cent  of  miners  in  the  population  of 
these  counties: 


County 

Mine  employes 

Homicides  in  1916 

Number 

Per  cent 

Number 

Per  100,000 
population 

Virginia 
Tazewell 
Russell 
Wise 

Kentucky 
Pike 
Bell 
Perry 
Harlan 
Letcher 

1,573 
1,678 

5.291 

3.313 

3,929 
1,107 

2,oS6 
3,306 

6.1 

6.2 

12.2 

8.9 
10.8 

8.4 
i8.q 
28.7 

4 

4 

17 

7 
9 
4 

7 
9 

15-4 
14.8 

39-3 

18.7 
24.6 
30.4 
63.5 
77-9 

117 


THE  SOUTHERN  HIGHLANDER 

of  violence  when  a  people  who  are  unprepared  for  industrial  condi- 
tions and  who  hold  still  to  some  of  the  standards  of  a  past  age,  are 
thrust  into  the  congested  life  of  a  modern  mining  development.  The 
increase  of  moonshining  in  such  regions,  previously  mentioned, 
should  also  be  considered  as  a  contributing  cause  of  other  crimes. 

The  types  of  crime  predominant  among  native  rural  Highlanders 
may  in  general  be  designated  as  those  arising  from  a  high  degree  of 
individualism.  They  are  the  crimes  of  a  people  hot-blooded  and 
high-tempered,  jealous  of  their  rights, ^  and  lacking  all  training  in 
self-restraint — a  people,  in  other  words,  intensely  independent  but 
not  debased  nor  decadent. 

A  friend  of  the  writer  whose  ancestors  were  among  the  earliest 
settlers  of  a  Highland  region  which  some  years  ago  was  torn  by 
feudal  strife,  makes  the  following  statement  in  answer  to  an  inquiry 
as  to  crime  among  his  people: 

1  wish  to  say  that  1  have  been  a  lawyer  here  for  fifteen  years, 
and  my  father  has  practiced  law  here  for  fifty  years,  and  my 
grandfather  was  a  lawyer  nearly  a  century  ago,  and  1  have  talked 
to  him  about  these  crimes  most  generally  found  on  our  docket, 
as  well  as  my  father.  Of  course  land  suits  predominate  owing  to 
the  way  in  which  this  state  formerly  granted  lands,  and  next  to 
them  the  only  suits  of  interest  are  murder  suits.    Recently  since 

the  State  of ,  and  the  United  States  have  gone  dry,  a 

great  many  illicit  whiskey  cases  appear,  and  they  now  pre- 
dominate. .  .  .  From  my  experience  as  a  lawyer  there  has 
rarely  ever  been  a  case  of  larceny,  and  there  has  been  but  one 

case  of  robbery  in County  during  my  recollection.    The 

larceny  cases  are  very  few  and  far  between,  and  assault  occurs 
once  in  a  while,  but  not  very  often.  The  greatest  number  of 
crimes  now  are  murders,  shooting  and  wounding,  concealed 
deadly  weapons,  and  discharging  firearms  on  the  public  highway, 
illicit  sale  of  liquor,  and  moonshining. 

1  "The  prompt  desire  of  the  backwoodsman  to  avenge  his  own  wrong;  his  mo- 
mentary furious  anger,  speedily  quelled  and  replaced  by  a  dogged  determination  to 
be  fair,  but  to  exact  full  retribution;  the  acting  entirely  without  regard  to  legal 
forms  or  legal  ofificials,  but  yet  in  a  spirit  which  spoke  well  for  the  doer's  deter- 
mination to  uphold  the  essentials  that  make  honest  men  law-abiding;  together 
with  the  good  faith  of  the  whole  proceeding,  and  the  amusing  ignorance  that  it 
would  have  been  in  the  least  unlawful  to  execute  their  own  rather  harsh  sentence — 
ail  these  were  typical  frontier  traits."- — Roosevelt,  Theodore:  The  Winning  of  the 
West,  Vol.  1,  p.  165.     New  York,  G.  P.  Putnam's  Sons,  1900. 

118 


INDIVIDUALISM  IN  VARIOUS  ASPECTS 

From  the  other  end  of  the  Highlands  another  mountain  lawyer 

writes: 

Our  people  are  independent  and  are  impatient  of  any  restraint. 
They  believe  that  they  have  a  God-given  right  to  live  their  own 
lives  as  they  see  fit,  are  very  jealous  of  their  personal  freedom, 
and  are  usually  ruggedly  honest.  This  being  the  case,  you  will 
fmd  that  they  are  as  a  rule,  only  charged  with  crimes  of  impulse, 
such  as  assault  and  battery,  homicides  of  the  different  degrees, 
etc.,  or  crimes  against  prohibitory  statutes  which  they  think  in- 
terfere with  their  personal  freedom,  such  as  "moonshining"  and 
offenses  of  that  nature.  Seldom  do  you  fmd  them  accused  of 
crimes  such  as  larceny,  burglary,  or  what  are  known  as  social 
crimes. 

Considering  the  Highlands  as  a  whole,  there  appears  to  have  been 
a  decrease  in  crime  during  the  past  few  years  despite  the  high 
homicide  rate  and  the  increase  in  moonshining  and  political  cor- 
ruption cited  previously.  In  many  places  the  docket  has  grown 
noticeably  lighter,  especially  where  educational  opportunities  have 
been  available  for  the  people.  High  tribute  has  been  paid  by  many 
prominent  men  of  the  mountains  to  the  denominational  and  inde- 
pendent schools,  which  were  placed  many  years  ago  in  regions  noted 
for  their  lawlessness.  The  influence  of  these  schools,  it  is  claimed, 
has  had  a  direct  connection  with  the  reduction  of  crime  in  such 
neighborhoods.  It  is,  indeed,  to  be  feared  that  fiction  will  soon 
have  to  seek  new  fields  for  picturesque  villainy.  The  Highlander  is 
becoming,  as  has  been  wittily  said,  "less  wicked,  and,  alas,  less 
interesting." 

One  other  aspect  of  individualism  in  the  mountains  should  be 
mentioned — the  relation  of  the  Highlander  to  the  Federal  Govern- 
ment. Too  often  the  word  "federal"  has  suggested  to  him  taxes 
and  revenue  officers.  He  has  little  money  to  pay  the  former,  and 
while  he  may  never  have  been  remotely  connected  with  illicit  still- 
ing, all  his  traditions  and  sympathies  have  been  against  the  latter. 
He  holds,  however,  a  wholesome  respect  for  the  Federal  Depart- 
ment of  Justice,  which  has  a  disinterested  and  persistent  way  of 
gathering  evidence  and  convicting  a  guilty  man  when  once  put  upon 
his  trail.  This  feeling  was  expressed  lately  by  a  sheriff  who  had 
failed  to  get  a  well-known  moonshiner  convicted  before  the  county 
court.    "He  can  pay  his  way  out  of  the  County  Court,"  he  said, 

1 19 


THE  SOUTHERN  HIGHLANDER 

"and  perhaps  out  of  the  District  Court.  But  we'll  get  him  in  the 
Federal  Court." 

Although  his  associations  with  federal  activities  have  not  always 
been  entirely  agreeable,  the  Highlander's  loyalty  to  the  govern- 
ment is  unquestioned.  A  recent  story  which  has  figured  in  the 
columns  of  several  magazines,  pictures  the  mountain  father  as  ad- 
monishing the  soldier  son  on  his  departure  for  foreign  shores  to 
imagine  the  hostile  Germans  as  revenue  officers  and  "shoot  to 
kill."  We  do  not  claim  that  the  story  is  true,  but  it  does  illustrate 
the  paradoxical  attitude  which  is  found  sometimes  in  the  High- 
lands. 

The  Highlands  have  always  furnished  a  large  and  valuable  quota 
to  our  Army  and  Navy,  and  its  sons  have  made  conspicuously 
brave  soldiers.  In  the  present  war  many  mountain  counties  vol- 
unteered at  once  far  in  excess  of  their  quota,  and  some  even  very 
remote  counties  contributed  financially  to  war  activities  consider- 
ably above  the  amount  apportioned  them. 

It  is  true  that  in  parts  of  the  mountains  there  was  a  somewhat 
general  lack  of  understanding  as  to  the  causes  of  the  war,  the  reason 
for  our  entrance  into  it,  and  particularly  the  operation  of  the  draft. 
The  feeling  was  often  expressed  that  it  was  not  our  business  to 
interfere,  that  the  government  did  not  have  a  right  to  make  the 
boys  go  unless  they  so  wished,  and  that  they  would  never  come 
back — a  fear  to  which  the  "great  waters,"  the  submarine  danger, 
and  the  general  ignorance  of  conditions  prevailing  both  here  and  on 
the  other  side  lent  unknown  and  terrifying  probabilities. 

Newspapers  were  not  available  for  many,  and  by  others  could 
not  be  read  where  they  could  be  secured.  Unfounded  reports  grew 
by  word  of  mouth. '  Possibly  there  was,  too,  more  or  less  anti- 
government  propaganda,  especially  in  connection  with  the  food 
laws.  For  example,  the  report  was  circulated  through  the  moun- 
tain section  of  several  states  that  the  government  was  going  to 
seize  all  the  goods  canned  above  a  certain  amount,  usually  about 
two  dozen  cans. 

Parents,  anxious  and  alarmed,  wrote  to  their  boys  in  camp  what 

^  Great  suspicion  was  felt  of  strangers  lest  they  should  prove  to  be  German  spies. 
Three  of  the  writer's  friends,  two  of  whom  were  in  the  mountains  on  government 
business,  narrowly  escaped  jailing  because  of  their  supposed  nefarious  activities. 

120 


INDIVIDUALISM  IN  VARIOUS  ASPECTS 

one  Highland  soldier  called  "pitiful  letters."  "  If  the  government 
wants  to  stop  fellows  from  deserting,"  he  added,  "they  oughtn't  to 
let  the  mothers  write  their  boys  that-a-way.  It  breaks  their  feel- 
ings. And  they  never  ought  to  let  the  boys  go  home  on  furlough. 
They  mean  to  come  back,  but  their  folks  pester  them  to  stay." 
Questioned,  however,  as  to  the  attitude  of  the  Highlanders  as  a 
whole  toward  deserters,  he  declared,  "They  haven't  ary  bit  of  use 
for  them  in  this  world!" 

There  is  another  factor  which  should  be  mentioned  in  connection 
with  army  service.  The  Highlander's  individualism  has  been  ex- 
plained. His  habit  has  been  to  do  what  he  wants,  when  he  wants, 
and  only  so  long  as  he  wants.  Time  is  of  no  importance;  tomorrow 
will  do  as  well  as  today.  Discipline  is  exceedingly  hard  for  him  to 
endure,  and  he  is,  moreover,  a  great  lover  of  home,  and  very  apt 
to  be  homesick  when  long  out  of  the  mountains.  These  character- 
istics are  not  generally  understood  by  the  outsider,  who  finds  it 
irritating  in  the  extreme  to  have  his  plans  set  at  naught  for  no  rea- 
son other  than  that  the  mountaineer  who  had  promised  to  help 
him  "just  naturally  got  out  of  the  notion." 

Some  of  the  Civil  War  leaders  seem  to  have  understood  condi- 
tions better.  We  are  told  that  during  that  period  the  mountain 
soldier  who  was  seized  with  a  sudden  desire  to  see  the  home  folks 
and  disappeared  for  a  few  days  without  leave,  was  not  treated  with 
the  harsh  sentence  of  a  deserter.  He  usually  returned  before  long 
and  was  an  effective  if  somewhat  undisciplined  fighter. 

It  is  not  the  province  of  the  civilian  to  suggest  what  methods 
should  be  used  by  army  authorities  to  deal  with  cases  such  as 
these,  but  one  might  wish  that  the  understanding  spirit  possessed 
at  least  by  one  officer  had  been  more  widely  diffused.  Sent  with  a 
small  detachment  into  a  very  rough  part  of  the  Southern  Highlands 
to  apprehend  deserters  in  hiding  there,  this  officer,  it  is  said,  rec- 
ognized at  once  the  futility  of  attempting  force  to  carry  out  his 
orders.  He  also  understood  the  men  with  whom  he  had  to  deal. 
Taking  with  him,  therefore,  a  number  of  guns  of  the  newest  pattern, 
he  gave  one  day  an  open  demonstration  of  what  such  weapons 
could  do.  The  interest  of  the  dwellers  in  the  region  round  about 
was  deep.  The  Highlander  loves  firearms  and  handles  them  with 
skill,  but  these  had  powers  transcending  his  experience.    A  group 

121 


THE  SOUTHERN  HIGHLANDER 

soon  gathered.  The  officer  explained  the  guns,  which  led  to  further 
discussion  of  equipment,  conditions  in  the  camp  and  across  the 
water,  and  reasons  for  the  war.  As  a  result  a  number  of  deserters, 
well  armed  to  resist  capture,  were  rounded  up  by  the  community, 
who  advised  them  to  return  to  camp  and  go  on  with  their  training. 

Such  tactics  might  not  always  have  been  successful,  but  it  is 
possible  that  much  trouble  might  have  been  avoided  could  the 
government  have  carried  out  an  extensive  and  systematic  educa- 
tional campaign  through  which  reasons  for  the  war  would  have  been 
made  clear  and  had  living  conditions  of  the  soldiers,  camp  activities, 
and  similar  information  been  explained  with  stereopticon  slides  as 
conclusive  evidence. 

One  campaign  of  this  nature,  conducted  under  government  aus- 
pices in  a  very  inaccessible  Highland  region,  demonstrated  the  pos- 
sibilities of  such  a  method.  School  houses  where  lectures  were  given 
were  crowded,  and  great  interest  and  enthusiasm  were  manifested. 
"You've  been  to  a  heap  of  trouble  to  talk  to  us,"  said  one  of  the 
many  who  had  listened  attentively  to  a  long  explanation,  "and  I 
thank  you.     1  never  rightly  understood  these  things  before." 

But  while  some  of  the  conditions  which  have  been  indicated  un- 
doubtedly had  their  influence  in  causing  evasions  of  the  draft  and 
desertions,  which  have  been  more  or  less  widely  advertised,  it  is  the 
writer's  belief  that  the  number  of  such  cases  has  been  greatly  ex- 
aggerated. Generally  speaking,  the  response  to  the  call  of  the  gov- 
ernment was  one  of  which  the  whole  mountain  region  may  be 
justly  proud,  while  the  exploits  of  individual  mountain  soldiers 
have  been  given  nation-wide  publicity. 

The  Highlander  is  not  without  a  humorous  appreciation  of  his 
militant  reputation  and  of  his  skill  with  firearms.  "The  next  war 
that  comes  up,"  writes  such  a  youth  who  served  faithfully  but 
without  glory  in  the  medical  corps,  "  1  intend  to  be  a  sniper.  Then 
maybe  I'll  have  a  chance  to  do  something,  like  Alvin  York  of  Pall 
Mall,  Tennessee.  Do  you  know  he  is  called  'The  hero  of  the  war'; 
not  'one  of  the  heroes'  but  'the  hero.' " 


122 


CHAPTER  VII 
THE   RURAL  HIGHLANDER  AT  HOME 

THERE  is  nothing  austere  about  the  rural  Highlands  save 
the  simplicity  of  life  within  them.  There  is  a  softness 
about  the  wooded  heights  and  hollows,  a  beauty  of  melting 
curves,  of  lights  and  shadows,  of  tender  distances  wherein  the 
hearth-smoke  is  a  part  and  the  cabin  is  at  home.  "Hit  may  be 
rough  and  rugged,  but  hit's  a  sweet  home  to  us,"  and  the  High- 
lander who  thus  spoke  from  his  heart  expressed  not  only  the  feeling 
of  his  people  but  the  homelike  charm  of  these  hills  upon  all  who 
come  to  dwell  among  them. 

Whether  the  long,  forest-clad  slopes  be  gray  with  winter;  bril- 
liant with  the  variant  greens  and  flowering  shrubs  of  spring;  soft- 
ened with  the  hazy  serenity  of  summer;  or  rich  with  the  russets, 
golds,  and  crimsons  of  autumn;  the  setting  is  one  of  exceeding 
beauty.  Into  it  melts  the  wide-roofed  cabin,  at  times  to  be  dis- 
tinguished only  by  the  smoke  ascending  from  the  broad  chimney, 
or  the  line  of  gaily  colored  quilts  spread  out  to  air  and  sun  upon  the 
palings.  Nearer  at  hand  the  big  wool-wheel  on  the  porch  is  seen, 
and  sometimes  a  loom  with  the  housewife  at  work  thudding  out 
the  yards  of  homespun,  or  the  far-famed  covers,  quilts,  and  blan- 
kets. Hanks  of  wool  of  different  colors  are  suspended  from  the 
rafters,  with  strings  of  beans,  and  "burney"  peppers,  and  ears  of 
drying  seed  corn.  A  saddle  hangs  from  a  wooden  peg  in  the  wall. 
Through  the  wide-swung  door  the  many  beds  with  their  bright 
quilts,  the  big  fireplace  where  a  fire  smoulders  even  in  summer,  the 
little  straight-backed  chairs  with  their  seats  of  woven  hickory,  all 
give  a  quaint  and  old-time  atmosphere  as  charming  as  it  is  simple. 
The  yard  is  bare  of  grass,  "swept  smooth  and  pretty  like  the 
palm  of  your  hand,"  but  there  is  bloom  for  the  summer  through — 
a  snow-ball  and  a  rosy-bush,  flowering  quince  and  coral-berry. 
Daffodils  are  gay  in  spring,  and  lilies,  dahlias,  and  sunflowers  fol- 
io 123 


THE  SOUTHERN  HIGHLANDER 

low,  while  chrysanthemum  blossoms  make  rich  clusters  of  color 
until  the  "black  killin'  frost."  Here  a  gnarled  and  ancient  cedar, 
and  there  a  thick-set  tree  of  box,  speak  of  the  pioneer  who  chose 
this  spot  on  which  to  rear  his  home  a  century  ago. 

Close  by  is  the  branch,  slipping  through  growth  of  "big"  and 
"little"  laurel  and  set  with  "holly-bush"  and  groups  of  towering 
"spruce-pine."  Often  the  road  lies  in  its  bed — the  only  road, 
which  must  be  "forded  lengthwise"  to  the  little  homes  which  reach 
far  up  its  course.  Down  it  the  man  of  the  household  finds  his  way 
to  store  or  mill,  to  the  neighboring  hamlet  and  the  county-seat; 
but  the  woman,  especially  if  she  lives  up  a  smaller  branch  or  away 
at  the  head  of  the  hollow,  is  very  much  shut  in.  Home  duties  and 
the  care  of  the  children  tie  her  closely,  and  the  difficulties  of  travel 
during  long  seasons  of  the  year  serve  still  further  to  limit  her  to  her 
immediate  neighborhood.  She  has  little  to  do  with  politics,  and 
little  to  do  with  the  management  of  church  affairs  save  when  occa- 
sion calls  to  prepare  a  bounteous  repast  for  the  visiting  preacher  and 
the  many  friends  who  come  to  hear  him.  Her  place  is  the  home, 
and  in  the  home  the  relations  of  man  and  woman  are  Pauline. 

From  babyhood  the  boy  is  the  favored  lord  of  all  he  surveys. 
There  is  a  dignity,  a  conscious  superiority,  in  his  youthful  mien 
that  says  more  clearly  than  spoken  words  that  womankind  are  not 
his  equals.  Though  by  old  mountain  usage,  now  yielding  in  places 
to  the  new,  he  is  not  his  own  man  till  he  is  of  age  or  marries  and 
makes  his  own  home,  he  enters  early  into  the  heritage  of  the  past 
and  holds  himself  the  proud  equal  of  any  human  creature.  As  a 
man,  he  recognizes  from  the  first  the  man's  prerogative  to  order  and 
be  obeyed,  and  right  bravely  does  he  stride  in  the  long  steps  of  his 
father  and  older  brothers.  With  them  he  sits  at  table  while  mother 
and  sisters  stand  to  serve  his  wants,  and  from  them  he  gathers 
much  that  were  better  unknown.  He  follows  them  to  the  field  and 
learns  to  handle  the  plow  and  to  crack  the  braided  hickory  lash 
over  his  yearling  steer.  He  can  swing  an  axe  and  wield  a  saw  with 
the  older  men — valuable  assets  in  the  family  economy — and  always 
his  ambition  is  to  shoot  the  straightest  in  the  countryside. 

He  has,  however,  neither  training  nor  example  in  self-control. 
At  times  his  father,  equally  undisciplined,  "whups"  him  in  a  fit 
of  furious  temper;  or  the  weary  and  exasperated  mother  puts  into 

124 


THE  RURAL  HIGHLANDER  AT  HOME 

execution  her  frequent  threat  to  "wear  him  out  with  a  hickory," 
but  for  the  most  part  he  is  free  to  follow  his  impulses  whether  they 
be  for  good  or  evil.  The  fact  that  he  is  one  of  many  children  gives 
him  still  greater  latitude. 

Nor  do  discipline  and  self-control  come  to  him  through  play  with 
his  fellows.  He  has,  in  his  isolation,  small  opportunity  for  neigh- 
borhood sports.  Even  the  national  game  of  baseball  is  little  known 
in  parts  of  the  remote  Highlands,  and  cannot  be  played  in  many 
cases  because  of  the  lack  of  a  free  space  large  enough  for  a  diamond 
near  well-settled  regions.  Such  level  spaces  as  exist  are  used  gen- 
erally for  building  sites,  or  for  the  bottom-land  crop.  Through  the 
agency  of  some  of  the  church  and  independent  schools,  basket-ball 
has  been  introduced  and  has  met  with  favor,  but  it  is  not  wide- 
spread enough  as  yet  to  be  a  factor  in  recreation. 

In  general  it  may  be  said  that  the  common  diversions  open  to  the 
boy  are  those  somewhat  solitary  in  nature,  such  as  hunting  and 
fishing.  He  is  from  early  years  an  inveterate  hunter.  In  a  south- 
ern part  of  the  mountains  a  fall  of  snow  used  almost  to  break  up 
school,  every  boy  and  every  available  gun  being  engaged  in  pursuit 
of  game.  So,  too,  in  the  spring  season  he  is  to  be  found  haunting 
creek  or  mill  pond  for  the  horny-head,  shiner,  "pearch,"  or  sucker; 
or  miles  away  where  high  among  the  hills  a  mountain  streamlet 
roars  along  its  rocky  bed,  he  seeks  the  trout  in  some  black  pool 
shadowed  by  rhododendron. 

Yet  while  his  forms  of  recreation  are  so  often  lonely  ones,  it  must 
be  borne  in  mind  that  there  does  exist  in  many  neighborhoods,  as  in 
urban  centers,  a  "gang"  spirit.  The  boys  "up  the  branch"  or 
"down  the  creek"  gather,  especially  on  Sundays,  for  amusements 
which,  if  not  vicious  in  themselves,  are  usually  accompanied  by 
more  or  less  vicious  features.  It  is  such  gangs  that  express  their 
lawless  independence  and  rural  conservatism  by  "  rocking"  individ- 
uals and  objects  that  meet  with  their  disfavor,  burning  private  and 
sometimes  public  property,  robbing  orchards,  and  similar  offenses 
not  peculiar  to  the  mountain  region.  And  gangs  of  this  sort  where 
there  are  private  schools,  are  likely  to  manifest  the  old  antagonism 
of  town  and  country  boys  against  school  boys,  resulting  in  petty 
but  persistent  annoyances  to  school  authorities  and  sometimes  con- 
sequences dangerous  to  teachers  and  pupils. 

125 


THE  SOUTHERN  HIGHLANDER 

The  Highland  boy  has,  however,  little  knowledge  of  play  as  play. 
When  he  plays  he  plays  to  win.  In  contests  of  any  kind  he  wishes 
passionately  to  be  the  victor,  and  if  he  finds  defeat  threatens  him 
he  is  too  inclined  to  give  up  or  take  what  means  he  can  to  reach  his 
end.  He  is,  moreover,  very  sensitive  and  swift  to  take  offense. 
Ridicule,  or  the  suspicion  that  someone  is  "  throwing  off  on"  him, 
he  cannot  bear,  and  he  is  quicker  with  the  knife,  or,  when  he  is 
older,  with  the  pistol,  than  with  the  fists.  Thus  he  incurs  the  re- 
proach of  being,  in  popular  parlance,  a  "  poor  sport,"  one  who  does 
not  know  the  art  of  "playing  the  game  to  a  finish,"  regardless  of 
what  it  costs.  It  must  not  be  inferred  from  this  statement  that  he 
is  a  coward,  although  from  a  true  sportsman's  standpoint  there  is 
an  element  of  cowardice  in  his  failure  to  meet  defeat  squarely  and 
honestly.  In  feats  of  daring  the  mountain  youth  is  brave  to  reck- 
lessness, and  as  has  been  indicated  in  a  previous  chapter,  no  man 
in  the  country  makes  a  more  valiant  soldier.  He  needs,  however, 
to  learn  the  code  of  honest  sportsmanship — the  code  of  the  "good 
loser" — which  can  best  be  taught  through  games  which  bring  him 
into  touch  with  his  fellows  in  team-play  and  healthful  competition. 

Like  other  boys  brought  up  in  the  open  he  is  a  keen  observer, 
and  his  shrewd  eyes  are  no  more  observant  of  woods  and  rivers  than 
of  the  social  order  about  him.  He  matures  early;  not  into  what 
might  be  called  intellectual  maturity,  but  a  maturity  resulting 
from  being  called  upon  at  an  early  age  to  take  care  of  himself  and 
to  do  his  part  in  meeting  the  needs  of  the  family.  Thrown  much 
upon  himself  and  upon  those  of  the  household,  and  lacking  the  con- 
tact with  others  enjoyed  by  the  city  child  of  the  same  social  status, 
he  is  not  forced  to  check  up  the  opinions  he  has  reached  by  reason- 
ing from  a  certain  premise  with  those  of  others  who  have  reasoned 
from  the  same  premise.  Consequently  he  arrives  at  judgments 
quickly  and  tends  to  grow  rigid  in  them;  and  if  he  remains  in  his 
native  environment  he  swells  the  number  already  there  who  hold  to 
the  old  and  resist  the  new. 

While  he  thus  grows  into  the  ways  of  mountain  manhood  his 
sisters  are  learning  to  tread  the  painful  path  of  mountain  woman- 
hood. For  them  there  are  few  of  the  child's  irresponsible  joys.  The 
"least  ones"  of  the  large  family  are  the  "poppets"  with  which  they 
play.     Their  playhouse  is  the  home,  in  whose  duties  they  must 

126 


THE  RURAL  HIGHLANDER  AT  HOME 

early  take  a  share;  nor  are  they  freed  from  labor  in  the  field  but 
must  help  to  plant,  hoe,  and  harvest  the  crop;  must  share  in  the 
making  of  the  family  garden,  and  in  addition  do  the  many  chores 
not  held  to  be  manly  by  their  brothers. 

These  little  girls  with  their  shy  and  eager  eyes  are  full  of  promise, 
but  it  has  not  been  considered  necessary  in  the  past  for  them  to  be 
educated.  Irregular  attendance  at  the  short  terms  of  the  country 
school  was  thought  enough  for  woman.  Conditions  are  changing 
rapidly  in  this  respect.  More  and  more,  girls  are  demanding  an 
opportunity  to  learn,  but  too  often  still,  if  one  of  the  household  is 
ill,  if  "mammy"  is  busy,  or  the  baby  needs  tending,  "sis"  must 
stay  at  home.  She  is  not  an  unwilling  sufferer  always,  for  she 
loves  the  freedom  of  home.  The  restraints  of  school,  in  particular 
of  those  private  schools  where  girls  are  segregated,  prove  irksome  at 
times,  and  not  infrequently  she  runs  away  and  leaves  education  to 
the  menfolk,  thus  again  inevitably  sinking  in  their  respect. 

She,  too,  matures  early  into  a  vigorous  blooming  girlhood,  whose 
aspirations  are  too  often  blunted  and  coarsened  by  the  bald  and 
unrelieved  hardness  of  life.  She  is  alternately  suspicious,  given  to 
fits  of  fiery  temper,  emotional,  and  sullen — yet  again  of  a  delicate, 
a  touching  and  gentle  sweetness  that  has  in  it  an  unconscious 
pathos. 

Though  she  may  at  first  appear  less  responsive  than  the  boy  of 
her  age,  she  is  marvelously  quick  to  appreciate  the  new  and  to 
adapt  herself  to  changed  conditions.  Unfortunately  this  very 
adaptability,  coupled  with  her  emotional  and  independent  spirit, 
is  sometimes  her  undoing  when  she  is  thrust  unprotected  into  the 
new  distractions  of  urban  and  industrial  centers. 

Marriage  is  her  goal.  There  is  little  comfort  for  the  spinster, 
relegated  to  the  hard  tasks  of  life  yet  dependent  for  support  upon 
her  male  and  her  married  woman  kindred,  all  of  whom  are  agreed 
in  thinking  her  a  failure.  "Then  you  be  n't  married,"  said  the 
weary  mountain  mother  of  many  children  to  a  teacher  from  a  dis- 
tant church  school,  "  and  you  don't  look  like  you  minded  it  nuther." 

The  prevailing  view  was  expressed  by  a  little  chap  of  ten  in  one 
of  the  Sabbath  school  classes  which  the  writer  was  called  upon  to 
teach,  when  visiting  a  mountain  school.  It  being  near  the  Fourth 
of  July  we  drifted  into  a  discussion  of  the  meaning  of  that  da\'.     In 

127 


THE  SOUTHERN  HIGHLANDER 

reply  to  a  question  as  to  why  we  celebrated,  came  the  answer,  "We 
fit  the  British  and  we  licked  them." 

"What  did  we  fight  them  for?" 

"Taxation  without  representation." 

Thinking  that  this  had  been  learned  in  a  parrot-like  way  at 
school  without  knowing  its  meaning,  the  writer  pressed  the  boy  fur- 
ther and  was  somewhat  surprised,  although  he  ought  after  all  his 
experience  to  have  been  immune  to  surprise,  at  the  response, 

"  Paying  taxes  for  things  you  don't  have  no  vote  for." 

"Does  anyone  in  this  country  do  this  now?" 
No. 

"How  about  women?" 

"They  have  an  old  man  to  vote  for  them." 

"  But  suppose  they  haven't  an  old  man?" 

"Their  brother." 

"  But  suppose  a  woman  pays  taxes  and  hasn't  any  husband  or 
brother,  isn't  that  taxation  without  representation?" 

There  was  a  reluctant  assent. 

"Ought  she  not  to  vote  then?" 

A  firm  "  No,"  followed  by  the  all-convincing  rejoinder,  "A  woman 
what  ain't  got  sense  enough  to  get  her  up  an  old  man  ain't  got  sense 
enough  to  vote." 

Women  are  coming  to  occupy  a  larger  place  in  the  mountains, 
as  without.  How  rapidly  the  change  is  coming  about  can  little  be 
inferred  by  those  who  know  only  the  mountains  of  yesterday.  But 
recently  a  young  woman,  graduate  of  one  of  the  mountain  schools, 
very  nearly  plucked  the  political  plum  of  county  superintendency  of 
education  from  her  male  opponent,  and  this  in  a  very  remote 
mountain  county.  The  new  point  of  view  is  typified  in  the  remark, 
made  by  a  modern  mountain  mother:  "1  don't  aim  to  learn  my 
girls  how  to  milk.    If  they  know  how,  they'll  have  hit  to  do." 

Apparently,  however,  judged  even  by  the  standard  of  the  youth- 
ful male  quoted  above,  mountain  women  might,  at  least  in  a  nega- 
tive fashion,  be  considered  as  qualified  to  vote,  for  most  of  them  are 
married.  In  addition  to  this  being  the  natural  desire  of  most 
women,  it  is  forced  practically  upon  all  because  they  have  so  few 
opportunities  for  economic  independence. 

The  gathering  of  roots  and  herbs,  and  the  sale  of  milk  and  butter 

128 


THE  RURAL  HIGHLANDER  AT  HOiME 

in  a  very  limited  way,  are  almost  the  only  means  by  which  women 
can  earn  money  in  the  mountains,  and  as  these  articles  are  often 
bartered  at  the  country  store  for  household  commodities,  they  can- 
not be  said  to  form  a  means  of  support  under  present  conditions. 
Efforts  are  being  made  by  some  of  the  various  agencies  maintaining 
work  in  the  Highlands  to  revive  the  making  of  linsey,  coverlets, 
quilts,  blankets,  baskets,  and  similar  "  fireside  industries."  A  ready 
market  is  found  for  all  that  can  be  secured,  but  the  conditions 
under  which  they  must  be  made,  during  intervals  between  house- 
hold tasks  and  working  the  crop,  make  the  output  small  and  uncer- 
tain; nor  is  the  movement  yet  one  which  promises  an  independent 
living  to  any  large  number  of  women.  Neither  is  school  teaching, 
under  present  conditions,  a  means  of  entire  self-support.  The  only 
solution  of  life  for  the  average  girl  who  stays  in  the  Highlands  is 
marriage. 

There  is  a  certain  primitive  etiquette  observed  in  the  courting. 
Thinking  of  its  conventions  one  is  reminded  irresistibly  of  a  certain 
mountain  ballad  which  would  seem  to  indicate  that  the  mountain 
girl  is  not  without  her  humorous  appreciation  of  the  courting  situa- 
tion: 

"A  gentleman  came  to  our  house, 
He  would  not  tell  his  name. 
1  knew  he  came  a-courtin' 
Although  he  were  ashamed. 

O,  although  he  were  ashamed. 

He  drew  his  chair  up  by  my  side, 

His  fancy  pleased  me  well. 
I  thought  his  spirit  moved  him 

Some  handsome  tale  to  tell. 

O,  some  handsome  tale  to  tell. 

And  there  he  sat  the  livelong  night. 

And  not  a  word  did  say. 
With  many  a  sigh  and  bitter  groan, 

He  oft-times  wished  for  day. 

O,  he  oft-times  wished  for  day! 

The  chickens  they  began  to  crow. 

And  daylight  did  appear, 
'  How-dye-do,  good  morning,  sir, 

I'm  glad  to  see  you  here!' 

O,  I'm  glad  to  see  >ou  here! 

129 


THE  SOUTHERN  HIGHLANDER 

He  was  weary  of  the  livelong  night, 

He  was  weary  of  his  life, 
If  this  is  what  you  call  courting,  boys, 

I'll  never  take  a  wife. 

O,  I'll  never  take  a  wife! 

Whenever  he  goes  in  company. 

The  girls  all  laugh  for  sport. 
They  say,  there  goes  a  ding-dang  fool, 

He  don't  know  how  to  court! 

O,  he  don't  know  how  to  court!" 

There  comes  to  mind,  too,  that  cheerful  jingle  of  "Sourwood 
Mountain,"  so  associated  with  the  twang  of  the  banjo  by  the  even- 
ing hearth-fire,  when  the  family  is  free  to  enjoy  a  brief  interval  of 
relaxation  before  the  early  bedtime. 

"  I've  got  a  girl  at  the  head  of  a  hollow. 

Hay,  didyum,  didyum  dum  day, 

She  won't  come,  and  1  won't  follow. 

Hay,  didyum,  didyum  dum  day. 

Old  man,  old  man,  I  want  your  daughter, 

Hay,  didyum,  didyum  dum  day, 
To  bake  me  bread  and  carry  me  water.     /^ 

Hay  didyum,  didyum  dum  day." 

As  a  rule,  however,  courting  is  a  serious  matter  and  permits  of  no 
trifling.  If  a  girl  accepts  the  attentions  of  a  young  man  she  may 
not  smile  upon  another.  Many  a  fatal  shooting  has  resulted  from 
this  very  thing.  One  of  the  writer's  first  pupils  was  stabbed  at  a 
dance  because  he  danced  with  a  girl  too  often  to  suit  the  escort  with 
whom  she  had  come,  the  stabbing  being  undoubtedly  precipitated 
by  the  fact  that  both  young  men  had  been  drinking. 

Dances  in  the  mountains  have  been  so  often  connected  in  the 
past  with  drinking,  shooting,  and  evil  of  all  kinds  as  to  have  gained 
the  hearty  disapprobation  of  most  of  the  steady  church-going  popu- 
lation. Households  which  are  accustomed  to  furnish  such  enter- 
tainment are  not  those,  usually,  which  have  a  high  reputation  in 
the  neighborhood.  Yet  in  the  democratic  life  of  the  remote  High- 
lands distinctions  are  not  strongly  marked,  and  legitimate  social 

130 


THE  RURAL  HIGHLANDER  AT  HOME 

events,  such  as  singings  and  "workings"  where  a  large  crowd  may 
be  present,  are  attended  by  all  who  wish  to  come,  regardless  of  dif- 
ference in  social  or  moral  status.  It  is  to  be  remembered,  however, 
that  these  differences  do  exist  and  are  recognized. 

But  while  enough  attends  certain  social  gatherings  in  remote 
neighborhoods  to  warrant  condemnation,  too  generally  amuse- 
ments of  all  kinds  are  preached  against  as  sinful.  Sentiment  is 
generally  against  play  and  amusement,  and  the  Church's  con- 
demnation when  it  does  not  make,  helps  to  overcharge  the 
atmosphere,  so  that  the  young  people  have  not  the  benefits 
of  social  intercourse  as  have  the  young  people  in  thickly  settled 
communities. 

Naturally  the  man  is  freer  in  this  respect  than  the  woman,  but 
the  fact  that  he  has  so  little  chance  for  legitimate  amusement  un- 
doubtedly accounts  for  the  license  of  much  that  is  diversion  in  his 
eyes.  He  craves  excitement  and  gets  it  in  whatever  form  is  avail- 
able. To  drink,  to  ride  furiously,  to  "shoot  up  the  town" — these, 
with  "  frolics  "  and  "  jamborees  "  are  his  way  of  breaking  the  monot- 
ony of  a  life  barren  of  more  innocent  entertainment.  ^ 

The  girl  may  disapprove,  but  under  the  deadening  influence  of 
custom  and  the  free  mingling  of  all  social  groups,  she  is  likely  to 
view  masculine  failings  with  philosophic  indifference.  Too  often 
she  accepts  the  traditional  attitude  of  man  toward  woman,  evi- 
denced in  song  and  ballad  of  an  earlier  century.  It  is  not  perhaps 
by  chance  that  some  of  the  most  numerous  and  favorite  of  the  old 
songs  which  have  survived  in  the  mountains  have  to  do  with  the 
faithlessness  of  men  and  the  misfortunes  of  girls — such  songs  as: 

"Come  all  you  young  and  handsome  girls,      ■> 
Take  warning  of  a  friend. 
And  learn  the  ways  of  this  wide  world, 
And  on  my  word  depend. 

I  know  the  minds  of  girls  are  weak. 
And  the  minds  of  boys  are  strong. 

And  if  you  listen  to  their  advice, 
They  will  sure  advise  you  wrong. "^ 

1  Campbell,  Olive  Dame,  and  Sharp,  Cecil  J.:  English  Folk  Songs  from  ihe 
Southern  Appalachians,  p.  289,  No.  103.     New  York.  G.  P.  Putnam's  Sons.  1917. 


THE  SOUTHERN  HIGHLANDER 

or: 

"  I  once  did  have  a  dear  companion; 
Indeed,  I  thought  his  love  my  own, 
Until  a  black-eyed  girl  betrayed  me, 
And  then  he  cares  no  more  for  me. 

Just  go  and  leave  me  if  you  wish  to, 
It  will  never  trouble  me, 
For  in  your  heart  you  love  another, 
And  in  my  grave  I'd  rather  die. 

Last  night  while  you  were  sweetly  sleeping 
Dreaming  of  some  sweet  repose, 
While  me  a  poor  girl  broken,  broken  hearted. 
Listen  to  the  wind  that  blows. 

When  I  see  your  babe  a-laughing 
It  makes  me  think  of  your  sweet  face. 
But  when  I  see  your  babe  a-crying 
It  makes  me  think  of  my  disgrace."^ 

The  question  of  illegitimacy  is  not  absent  from  the  mountains, 
but  the  social  evil  is  not  marked  by  enticement  or  seduction.  It  is 
more  in  the  nature  of  animalism  and  may  be  traced  in  part  to  the 
lack  of  privacy  in  the  home,  early  acquaintance  with  the  sex  rela- 
tion, and  a  promiscuous  hospitality.  There  is  not,  moreover,  the 
same  stigma  put  upon  the  "baseborn"  child  as  in  other  sections. 
Many  times  he  is  known  by  his  father's  name  or  by  the  name  of 
both  father  and  mother,  and  the  father  feels  some  responsibility  for 
him.  The  mother  quite  generally  marries — an  older  man,  often,  or 
a  "widder  man"  with  children— and  her  husband  provides  for  the 
child  of  her  unmarried  state  as  for  his  own.  If  she  does  not  marry 
she  lives,  ordinarily,  with  her  parents  and  her  child  is  brought  up 
as  their  other  grandchildren,  seemingly  without  discrimination.  It 
has  been  by  no  means  unknown  for  a  father  to  bring  up  legitimate 
and  illegitimate  children  together.  Criminal  practices  to  prevent 
the  public  knowledge  of  wrong,  while  not  unknown,  are  not  gen- 
erally employed.  These  conditions  change,  however,  when  the  un- 
married mother  enters  the  more  complex  life  of  the  industrial  cen- 
ters or  cotton  mill  towns,  or  when  the  country  opens  up. 

There  are  not  a  few  men  and  women  in  the  Highlands  living  as 

1  Ibid.,  p.  204,  No.  58. 
132 


THE  RURAL  HIGHLANDER  AT  HOME 

husband  and  wife  who  have  never  been  married  by  any  legal  form. 
It  was  not  always  convenient  in  earlier  times  to  wait  for  a  circuit 
rider  to  come  around  or  to  go  to  a  civil  officer;  and  when  one's 
grandparents,  or  great-grandparents,  and  perhaps  one's  father  and 
mother  had  thus  lived  in  union  regarded  as  honorable,  standards 
were  not  rigid,  and  such  marriages  became  a  quick  solution  for  error 
and  transgression.  While  cases  of  this  sort  were  held  by  several 
of  the  wTiter's  mountain  friends  to  be  due  to  "pure  wickedness," 
underall  the  circumstances  of  isolation,  individualism,  and  illiteracy 
existing  in  remote  sections  of  the  Highlands  irregular  relationships 
have  long  been  tolerated  with  something  of  indifference.  Public 
opinion,  however,  is  steadily  growing  against  them  throughout  the 
mountain  region.  Boys  and  girls  who  have  been  away  to  school 
and  seen  life  under  different  aspects  not  only  demand,  but  set,  new 
standards.  It  is  through  these  new  homes  that  the  changes  already 
begun  will  become  established. 

As  a  rule  marriage  comes  early  in  the  mountains.  A  girl  is  a 
spinster  at  eighteen,  and  on  the  "cull  list"  by  twenty.  The  writer 
has  had  pupils  leave  school  at  twelve  and  thirteen  to  marry,  al- 
though this  is  becoming  less  common  every  year.  When  it  is  known 
that  the  ceremony  is  to  take  place  the  occasion  is  a  festive  one,  but 
it  is  very  common  for  the  young  people  to  slip  off  without  warning. 
Little  is  demanded  in  the  way  of  preparation  beyond  the  consent 
of  the  bride,  the  license,  and  the  preacher.  One  father,  keenly 
mindful  of  his  early  poverty,  refused  to  allow  his  daughters  to 
marry  until  each  had  forty  quilts,  a  cow,  a  pig,  two  sheep,  and  a 
set  of  dishes.  The  home,  however,  is  often  begun  with  a  less  bounti- 
ful equipment. 

To  the  sophisticated  outsider,  burdened  with  the  care  of  an  over- 
abundance of  things  of  this  world,  there  is  a  certain  charm  in  the 
ease  with  which  the  young  Highlander  packs  on  his  wagon  his  bed 
and  bedding,  his  few  chairs  and  utensils,  his  wife  and  baby,  ties  his 
cow  to  the  tail-board,  cracks  his  lash  over  his  mule,  and  moves  to 
another  home. 

The  simplicity  of  such  life,  however,  does  not  always  make  for 
ease  for  the  housewife,  who  is  often  obliged  to  do  her  work  with- 
out conveniences  of  any  kind.  It  is  a  pretty  domestic  scene  upon 
a  bright  summer  day  to  see  the  mother  and  daughters  doing  the 

133 


THE  SOUTHERN  HIGHLANDER 

week's  washing  in  a  clear  mountain  spring  or  stream,  the  clothes 
spread  out  to  dry  on  the  green  bushes  in  the  sun.  When,  however, 
the  weather  is  raw  and  cold  and  the  housewife  must  walk  some  dis- 
tance carrying  heavy  bundles  of  clothes,  the  picture  has  its  reverse 
side.  Equally  laborious  is  it  to  draw  all  the  water  needed  for 
washing  from  deep  wells  or  to  secure  sufficient  supply  from  those 
that  are  shallow.  Even  in  sections  where  it  would  be  comparatively 
easy  to  pipe  water  into  the  kitchen,  at  least  for  cooking  purposes, 
the  housewife  is  generally  obliged  to  carry  in  from  the  spring  or 
well  all  that  is  used,  and  because  there  is  no  sink  must  also  carry 
it  out;  and  when  in  the  hot  season  the  springs  run  dry  and  the 
shallow  wells  fail,  she  must  sometimes  go  a  long  way  for  water. 
There  are,  to  be  sure,  many  homes  now,  especially  in  the  more 
accessible  places,  where  water  has  been  piped  into  the  house  or 
yard.  Sometimes  it  is  made  to  flow  through  a  hollowed  mossy  log, 
where  milk  pails  may  be  immersed  to  the  top  and  butter  chilled  to 
an  icy  firmness.  But  housework  even  under  these  conditions  is  far 
from  easy,  and  in  addition  the  housewife  must  help  with  the  main 
crop,  corn. 

Criticism  has  often  been  directed  against  the  custom  of  women's 
working  in  the  fields.  Within  the  writer's  experience,  however, 
they  have  many  times  expressed  preference  for  outdoor  over  indoor 
work,  and  they  take  great  pride  and  pleasure  in  the  fenced-in  gar- 
den plot — their  peculiar  province.  Without  wishing  at  all  to 
minimize  the  hard  lot  of  the  rural  housewife,  here,  as  elsewhere, 
made  harder  by  the  absence  of  labor-saving  devices,  it  should  be 
said  that  a  wrong  impression  is  sometimes  conveyed  by  over- 
emphasis upon  her  outdoor  labor.  There  are,  of  course,  women 
whose  husbands  and  fathers  leave  them  to  do  the  indoor  and  prac- 
tically all  of  the  outdoor  work  as  well,  while  they  respond  to  the 
call  to  preach  or  to  politics.  But  the  mere  fact  of  outdoor  labor 
does  not  necessarily  indicate  that  women  who  engage  in  it  do  so 
unwillingly  or  regard  it  as  a  burden. 

There  comes  to  mind  the  pretty  picture  of  a  beautiful  mountain 
girl,  who  graduated  near  the  head  of  her  class  in  one  of  the  leading 
mountain  schools.  On  her  return  home  the  family,  as  a  pleasantry, 
had  prepared  for  her  the  commencement  present  of  a  new  hoe,  tied 
with  a  white  ribbon  to  be  in  accord  with  her  diploma  similarly 

134 


THE  RURAL  HIGHLANDER  AT  HOME 

decorated.  The  next  day  she  was  at  work,  hoe  in  hand,  with  her 
father,  brothers,  and  sisters  in  the  corn  field,  for  it  was  the  busy 
season  and  the  crop  must  be  worked. 

There  is  a  sociabiHty  in  labor  of  this  sort.  Mrs.  Murdoch,  in  a 
sympathetic  study  of  mountain  life,  gives  this  description  of  the 
part  the  family  takes  in  making  the  crop: 

"The  crop"  in  the  mountains  means  corn,  and  to  have  one 
is  an  invariable  and  essential  thing;  the  making  of  it  is  gone 
about  quite  in  the  spirit  of  a  festival  by  whole  families. 

When  the  brown  earth  is  warm  and  soft  under  foot,  after  the  • 
winter  freezes,  and  the  air  is  mellow  with  warmth  and  light  and 
blossom  sweetness,  the  women  and  children  come  teeming  from 
their  dark  little  homes  in  the  valleys,  like  children  let  loose  from 
school,  to  make  a  play  of  work  on  the  hillsides  and  by  the  water 
courses. 

The  trees  of  the  forest,  for  the  most  part,  are  still  bare  of 
foliage,  save  where  an  elm-tree  shows  a  greening  top  among  them ; 
and  the  smoke  from  the  burning  brush-heaps  in  the  clearings 
settles  over  their  brown  tops,  a  murky  blue.  The  purple  judas- 
trees  bloom  at  the  end  of  Lent  with  dogwood,  and  the  white  and 
red  fringes  of  the  sarvis  berry  and  sugar  maple  make  gay  the 
fence-rows  where  the  cardinals  blithely  call — "Sugar  sweet!" 
"Sugar  sweet!" 

The  grain  is  planted  when  the  "  oak-leaves  are  as  big  as  squirrel 
paws"  (and  much  resemble  them),  and  corn-hoeing  begins  when 
the  young  plants  are  a  few  inches  high  and  show  plainly  in  green 
rows  across  the  fields.  The  hoeing  is  more  than  all  a  family 
affair,  and  it  is  no  unusual  sight  to  see  from  six  to  eight  members 
of  a  family  each  taking  a  row  around  a  steep  hillside,  with  the 
fastest  hand  leading,  while  the  bab>-  lies  on  a  quilt  under  some 
convenient  shade  and  the  other  small  children  play  about.  Small 
wonder  that  so  much  of  the  work  is  not  well  done,  and  the  yield 
is  too  often  small. 

Making  the  crop  is  not  all  a  spring  festival,  however.  The 
whole  must  be  gone  over  at  least  three  times  v/ith  the  hoes,  chop- 
ping out  grass  and  weeds  and  hilling  the  earth  up  to  the  plants. 
It  is  delving  hard  work  for  women  and  children  before  the  last 
plantings  are  "laid  by"  to  grow  without  further  cultivating  in 
the  intense  heat  of  middle  July.^ 

In  the  mountains  the  saying  that  "a  woman's  work  is  never 

done"  is  much  truer  generally  than  that  "man  works  from  sun  to 

1  Murdoch,  Louise  S. :  Almetta  of  Gabriel's  Run.  pp.  19-20.     New  York,  The 
Meridian  Press,  1917. 


THE  SOUTHERN  HIGHLANDER 

sun."  That  many  mountain  men  do  work  hard  the  most  severe  of 
critics  must  admit,  but  even  during  periods  of  hardest  labor  they 
rarely  appear  hurried  or  pressed  by  the  necessity  of  making  a  living, 
and  there  is  always  time  in  the  long  winter  season  to  pick  the  banjo 
before  the  blazing  hearth,  or  by  the  glowing  stove  of  the  country 
store  to  fathom  the  secrets  of  the  universe  and  all  the  evidences 
thereof,  as  well  as  some  less  profound  subjects.  To  this  deliberate 
manner  of  life  is  due,  possibly,  the  Highlander's  air  of  detached 
leisure  and  calm  restraint,  which  give  little  hint  of  his  fiery  and 
uncontrolled  nature.  There  is,  too,  in  his  attitude  something  of  the 
fatalism  which  comes  from  a  long  struggle  with  hard  conditions  and 
from  a  theology  which  admits  neither  of  joy  nor  profit  in  the  con- 
duct of  this  existence.  Yet,  despite  his  seeming  indifference,  the 
Highlander  is  naturally  emotional,  responsive,  and  aspiring,  as 
those  who  know  him  best  will  testify. 

Until  recent  times  a  living  which  he  has  been  accustomed  to  re- 
gard as  adequate  could  be  made  by  the  man  who  worked  four  to 
five  months  during  the  year.  He  occupied  himself  during  the  other 
months  with  "following"  whatever  he  wished.  If  what  he  wished 
did  not  include  supplying  the  home  with  modern  conveniences,  it 
was  not  because  he  was  neglectful  by  intent.  It  simply  had  not 
occurred  to  him  that  such  appliances  were  necessary  or  even  pos- 
sible. Or,  again,  if  he  did  not  always  help  his  wife,  it  may  have 
been  because  certain  work  was  women's  work.  This  cannot  be 
pressed  too  far,  but  as  an  illustration  may  be  cited  the  milking  of 
the  cow.  A  mountain  friend  of  the  writer's  earlier  years  was  re- 
garded as  somewhat  of  a  weakling  because  he  milked  the  cow  for 
his  delicate  wife.  At  about  the  same  time  a  friend  traveling  in 
Scotland  and  entertained  in  a  home  where  there  were  no  servants, 
incurred  the  reproach  of  being  a  "sissy"  because  with  American 
chivalry  he  preferred  to  black  his  own  shoes  rather  than  have  the 
women  of  the  house  do  it. 

There  are  certain  standards  by  which  men  and  women  are  judged 
and  in  accordance  with  which  their  spheres  of  activity  are  meas- 
ured. The  writer's  wife,  traveling  with  him  in  a  far  part  of  the 
mountain  country,  received  the  doubtful  compliment  of  being  as 
good  as  a  man  because  of  her  ability  to  keep  up  with  the  men  of 

136 


THE  RURAL  HIGHLANDER  AT  HOME 

the  party.  The  guide  was  especially  impressed  by  her  desire,  one 
snowy  winter  day,  to  climb  a  mountain  with  the  others. 

"That  little  old  woman  of  yours,  Professor,  is  sure  the  stoutest 
woman  ever  I  seed!    Where's  she  from?" 

At  the  answer  of  "Massachusetts,"  he  evinced  great  interest. 

"Why,  1  knowed  a  feller  once  in  Tennessee,  that  went  to  that 

place,  Massachusetts, ",  and  then  in  all  seriousness,  placing 

his  hand  upon  the  shoulder  of  his  companion,  he  added  this  further 
compliment,  if  he  intended  it  as  such,  "Why,  Professor,  that  feller 
told  me  that  up  thar  in  Massachusetts,  nary  woman  ever  sot  her 
foot  out  of  the  house  to  do  a  lick  of  work.  She  don't  milk  the  cow, 
she  don't  tote  in  the  firewood,  and  she  don't  carry  water  from  the 
spring,  no  matter  how  far  away  it  is!" 

Some  overserious-minded  reader  may  read  into  this  more  than  is 
intended.  Our  guide  was  a  fond  husband  and  a  loving  father.  So 
fond  a  husband  was  he  that  we  had  to  climb  to  the  top  of  the  moun- 
tain for  mountain  birch,  whose  twigs  are  especially  suitable  for 
"tooth  brushes"  which  he  wished  to  take  to  his  own  little  old 
woman  who  was,  he  said,  "sure  the  dearest  lover  of  snuff  he  ever 
did  see,"  and  so  loving  a  father  that  the  writer  was  compelled  to 
cut  short  his  excursion  a  day  in  order  that  his  homesick  guide  might 
hasten  back  to  his  baby. 

The  relative  positions  of  men  and  women  must  be  taken  into 
consideration  in  estimating  many  matters.  The  standard  by  which 
such  positions  are  judged  is  not  condoned  by  a  statement  of  it ;  but 
if  one  seeks  without  injustice  to  interpret  social  actions,  the  stand- 
ards on  which  they  are  based  must  be  known.  Furthermore,  it 
must  not  be  understood  that  there  are  universal  standards  through- 
out the  mountains  nor  that  they  are  peculiar  to  the  region.  It  can- 
not be  too  often  said  that  the  mountains  differ  in  different  areas 
just  as  do  rural  sections  elsewhere.  The  only  false  statements 
about  them  are  the  sweeping  generalizations. 

The  married  state  of  the  women  of  the  mountains  is  thus  summed 
up  by  a  native  Kentucky  Highlander  in  an  interesting  brochure: 

The  women  of  the  mountains  form  an  interesting  study.  It 
has  been  said  they  are  sullen,  grave,  and  of  a  retiring  disposition. 
This  is  largely  true,  and  is  accounted  for  by  the  fact  that  their 


'37 


THE  SOUTHERN  HIGHLANDER 

position  in  the  social  caste  of  the  mountains  is  a  hard  one,  and  a 
deplorable  one,  for  the  most  part.  First,  race  suicide  is  no  ques- 
tion for  the  sociologist  to  struggle  with  in  the  mountains  of  Ken- 
tucky. Whether  or  no  it  is  better  to  rear  up  a  small  family  and 
do  it  well,  or  to  rear  up  a  large  family  badly,  is  no  concern  for  the 
mountaineer.  Most  families  in  the  mountains  are  large,  some  of 
them  very  large,  ranging  from  a  dozen  to  eighteen  or  twenty  under 
one  roof.  1 1  is  not  difficult,  then,  to  conceive  of  the  multitudinous 
cares  that  must  befall  the  lot  of  these  women,  which  condition 
prevents  much  mingling  and  social  intercourse  with  the  world. ^ 

The  mountains  do  not  hear  the  plaint  of  the  childless.  There  is 
no  need  for  its  women  to  seek  out  substitutes  upon  which  to  shower 
pent-up  maternal  affection.  "Seems  like  a  body  ought  to  have  at 
least  twelve,"  was  the  deprecatory  reply  of  a  mother  of  ten  children 
when  asked  as  to  the  size  of  her  family.  Doubtless  she  did  not  ex- 
press the  sentiment  of  all  her  sisters,  but  among  the  women  there  is 
something  of  the  Israelitish  woman's  attitude  of  old  toward  child- 
bearing. 

There  is  always  a  welcome  for  the  new  little  son  or  daughter, 
while  the  affection  of  the  older  members  of  the  family  for  the 
"least  one"  is  beautiful  and  touching.  Big  brothers  and  sisters 
will  quickly  stop  what  they  are  doing  to  nurse  the  fretful  baby,  who 
royally  takes  precedence  of  all  other  interests. 

One  of  the  vivid  recollections  of  the  writer's  experience  is  that 
of  a  scene  on  a  Christmas  morn  in  a  school  far  away  in  the  moun- 
tains. Here  were  scores  of  children  who  came  from  homes  of  pov- 
erty. Most  of  them  were  poor  in  the  most  common  possessions  of 
childhood  elsewhere.  Christmas  was  the  one  day  when  they  might 
expect  gifts  because  of  the  large  generosity  of  the  school's  friends. 
A  little  daughter  had  been  born  to  one  of  the  faculty  a  few  weeks 
before  and  made  her  first  public  appearance  on  Christmas  morning. 
As  the  doors  were  opened  to  the  room  lighted  with  holiday  cheer, 
and  the  bulging  stockings  hung  by  the  fireplace  caught  the  expec- 
tant eyes  of  the  children,  their  faces  lighted  with  anticipation;  at 
the  sight  of  the  cradle,  however,  they  turned  and  crowded  about 
it  to  welcome  the  little  stranger — forgetful  for  the  time  of  ball, 
trumpet,  drum,  and  doll. 

^  Combs,  Josiah  Henry:  The  Kentucky  Highlanders  from  a  Native  Moun- 
taineer's Viewpoint,  p.  19.     Lexington,  Kv.,  J.  L.  Richardson  and  Comoany,  1913. 

138 


THE  RURAL  HIGHLANDER  AT  HOME 

Several  times  within  a  somewhat  extended  experience  as  a 
teacher  in  the  mountains  has  the  writer  been  asked  to  grant  a  re- 
duction in  tuition  because  of  the  size  of  the  family.  The  last  re- 
quest of  the  kind  came  from  one  who  had  not  learned  the  intricacies 
and  excesses  of  rebating.  The  petitioner,  having  a  strong  desire  to 
educate  his  many  children,  and  also  having  strong  within  him  the 
mountaineer's  proclivity  for  driving  a  good  bargain,  was  moved  to 
ask  for  a  rebate  if  he  should  send  his  children  by  the  dozen.  He  had 
twelve  or  thirteen  of  his  own  and  had  adopted  six  of  his  brother's 
upon  the  death  of  his  brother  and  his  brother's  wife  from  the  after 
effects  of  measles. 

It  is  small  wonder  that  the  mother  fades  early.  Little  care  is 
given  her  in  childbirth,  for  doctors  and  nurses  have  always  been 
almost  non-existent  in  the  very  remote  sections,  ill-trained  or  be- 
yond the  financial  reach  of  the  poor  man,  and  midwives  where  ob- 
tainable are  usually  ignorant  and  superstitious.  While  this  state- 
ment must  like  others  be  modified  in  certain  sections  in  view  of  the 
changes  taking  place,  yet  the  neglect  of  women  at  this  period,  in  the 
past  and  in  the  present  as  well,  is,  if  not  a  cause  of  death  the  cause 
of  lifelong  suffering  on  the  part  of  so  many  mountain  women  as  to 
be  a  matter  of  comment  by  physicians. 

Conditions  are  aggravated  by  the  fact  that  the  mother  rarely 
ceases  to  work  until  it  is  practically  time  for  the  birth  of  her  child, 
and  begins  again  as  soon  afterward  as  she  can  get  about.  This 
getting  about  is  often  a  matter  of  pride  with  her.  It  is  by  no 
means  unknown  for  a  woman  to  get  up  and  do  the  household 
chores,  even  the  milking  and  churning,  within  three  or  four  days 
after  her  child  is  born.  Before  she  has  time  to  regain  her  strength, 
with  the  many  calls  upon  her,  there  is  a  new  little  one  in  her  arms. 

If  she  leaves  home  the  children  must  go  with  her.  Those  who 
have  tried  to  address  a  mountain  audience  against  the  wailing  of  a 
number  of  restless  infants  will  appreciate  this  fact.  The  writer 
has  known  one  woman  to  walk  seven  miles  to  a  meeting,  carrying 
her  three-year-old  child  because  "hit  wanted  to  come";  and 
another  to  bring  her  fifteen-months  boy  three  miles  in  her  arms, 
with  her  four  older  children  clinging  to  her  skirts. 

That  many  women  through  the  hard  and  sometimes  almost 
brutal  rudeness  of  their  lives  should  become  coarsened  and  sordid 
u  139 


THE  SOUTHERN  HIGHLANDER 

would  be  natural,  yet  it  is  true  that  suffering  has  often  refined  the 
Highland  woman  and  given  her  a  broad  human  sympathy  not  to  be 
expected  from  the  narrowness  of  her  environment. 

There  is  something  magnificent  in  many  of  the  older  women  with 
their  stern  theology — part  mysticism,  part  fatalism — and  their 
deep  understanding  of  life.  Patience,  endurance,  and  resignation 
are  written  in  the  close-set  mouth  and  in  the  wrinkles  about  the 
eyes;  but  the  eyes  themselves  are  kindly,  full  of  interest,  not  unre- 
lieved by  a  twinkling  appreciation  of  pleasant  things.  "Granny" 
— and  one  may  be  a  grandmother  young  in  the  mountains — if  she 
has  survived  the  labor  and  tribulation  of  her  younger  days,  has 
gained  a  freedom  and  a  place  of  irresponsible  authority  in  the 
home  hardly  rivaled  by  the  men  of  the  family.  Her  grown  sons 
pay  to  her  an  attention  which  they  do  not  always  accord  their 
wives;  and  her  husband,  while  he  remains  still  undisputed  master 
of  the  home,  defers  to  her  opinion  to  a  degree  unknown  in  her 
younger  days.  Her  daughters  and  her  grandchildren  she  frankly 
rules.  Though  superstitious  she  has  a  fund  of  common  sense,  and 
she  is  a  shrewd  judge  of  character.  In  sickness  she  is  the  first  to  be 
consulted,  for  she  is  generally  something  of  an  herb  doctor,  and  her 
advice  is  sought  by  the  young  people  of  half  the  countryside  in  all 
things  from  a  love  affair  to  putting  a  new  web  in  the  loom. 

It  is  not  surprising  if  she  is  something  of  a  pessimist  on  the  sub- 
ject of  marriage.  "  Don't  you  never  get  married/'  is  advice  that 
is  more  than  likely  to  pass  her  lips.^ 

Usually  she  has  been  a  good  weaver  in  her  time,  and  likes  to  tell 
how,  when  young,  she  could  weave  five  yards  of  linsey  or  three  of 
coverlid  a  day.  She  would  "love"  to  mix  a  "blue  pot"  now,  but 
indigo  is  scarce  and  hardly  as  good  as  it  used  to  be.  She  "hates 
awful  bad"  to  have  her  dyes  fade.    She  knits  her  socks  her  own 

*  "Well,"  said  Orlena,  "I  ain't  never  been  in  no  country  but  this  one  to  larn  any 
defferent  ways  f  m  what  we  folier  here,  but  I've  studied  on  hit  a  heap  myself;  more 
in  particular  sence  my  own  childern  growed  up  and  married.  An  1  sensed  hit  that 
ef  a  young  gal  can  make  out  to  keep  straight,  and  has  a  good  home,  she'd 
better  stay  by  hit,  an'  let  talkin'  and  marryin'  be;  anyhow  until  she's  old  and 
has  larned  enough  to  spend  her  opinions  and  have  some  'tention  paid  'em.  The 
boys  is  all  men  from  the  time  they  can  stan'  up  in  a  chair  by  the  table  and  glaum 
theirselves  with  a  spoon;  an'  when  a  young  girl  marries  a  man  she  ain't  axed  to 
spend  her  opinions  on  many  subjects!"  Murdoch,  Louise  S.:  Almetta  of  Gabriel's 
Run,  p.  73.     New  York,  The  Meridian  Press,  1917. 

140 


Ihere  is  something  magnificent  in  many  of  the  older  women.' 


o 

u 


o 

Q. 


THE  RURAL  HIGHLANDER  AT  HOME 

way  and  does  not  care  to  learn  new-fangled  heels  and  toes  de- 
manded by  Red  Cross  standards.  Why  should  she  change?  Have 
not  the  socks  she  has  knitted  from  girlhood  supplied  the  needs  of 
more  than  a  generation  of  children  and  grandchildren?  Yet  she 
contributed  many  a  pair  of  army  socks,  and  many  a  sweater  as 
well,  and  enjoyed  immensely  the  social  aspect  of  the  Red  Cross 
meetings  held  near  her  community. 

Now  at  last  she  has  leisure  to  enjoy  herself  as  never  before.  If 
vigorous  she  likes  to  fish  on  the  bank  of  the  neighboring  creek,  and 
she  is  no  mean  fisherman,  as  her  catch  will  prove.  She  is  partial  to 
company  and  to  strange  tales  of  new  lands  and  new  places — wants 
to  see  them  too.  One  meets  her  sometimes  going  a-visiting,  not 
mounted  in  the  shameful  new  fashion  which  is  creeping  in  even 
among  her  children,  but  sedately  side-saddle,  her  full  skirt  and 
striped  apron  ruffled  about  her  feet,  a  red  kerchief  around  her  neck, 
her  hands  encased  in  woolen  mits.  She  has  perhaps  a  clay  pipe 
tucked  deep  down  in  her  pocket,  with  a  twist  of  home-cured  to- 
bacco raised  on  her  own  hillside.  Under  the  big  sunbonnet  or  gay 
handkerchief  or  "fascinator"  her  brown  and  weather-beaten  face 
peers  sharply  but  serenely  out  on  a  world  which  she  has  no  longer 
reason  to  fear. 

Old  age  has  indeed  its  compensations  both  for  men  and  women, 
more  worth-while  here  in  the  mountains,  perhaps,  than  in  many 
places  more  urban  and  sophisticated.  It  has  at  least  the  respect  of 
the  younger  generation  and  the  dignity  of  labor  achieved. 

Rural  lifein  the  Highlands  has  its  limitations,  but  its  picturesque- 
ness  has  invested  with  a  romantic  charm  even  its  more  unlovely  fea- 
tures. The  log  cabin  of  the  pioneer  and  the  natural  beauty  of  the 
country  have  combined  to  form  a  setting  in  which  the  simplest  ac- 
tions are  imbued  with  a  dreamlike  glamour.  The  crossing  of  the 
foot-log  above  the  ford,  the  washing  of  wool  in  the  stream,  carding, 
spinning,  and  weaving,  the  boiling  of  clothes  in  a  black  pot  swung 
from  a  tripod,  the  salting  of  sheep  from  a  gourd  are,  as  it  were,  the 
shifting  scenesof  a  homely  drama  set  on  the  stageof  an  agelong  gone. 
The  mother  who  churns  her  milk  and  cooks  her  evening  meal  by 
the  light  of  a  fat-pine  stick  is  unconscious  that  she  moves  in  the 
heightened  lights  and  shadows  of  a  background  of  the  past.  So  the 
father,  seeking  help  for  his  sick  wife  in  the  night,  rides  by  the  flare 

141 


THE  SOUTHERN  HIGHLANDER 

of  a  burning  torch  and  does  not  know  how  his  lonely  beacon  touches 
the  blackness  with  a  deeper  mystery. 

One  who  has  watched  the  family  at  fodder-pulling  in  the  late 
summer,  high  up  on  the  mountainside,  and  has  heard  floating  down 
from  that  sunny  space  to  the  shadowed  valley  where  he  is  standing 
the  echoes  of  some  old  hymn  or  song,  feels  himself  apart  in  an 
enchanted  land.  The  sled  or  sledge,  which  alone  can  be  used  in 
fields  so  high  and  rough,  adds  to  the  illusive  unreality  of  the  scene, 
as,  drawn  by  steer  or  mule,  it  descends  the  steep  trail  from  the  corn 
field. 

The  very  rocks,  ruts,  and  mud  which  render  travel  even  on  the 
Big  Road  a  weary  process  have  served  to  keep  the  canvas-topped 
wagon  with  its  team  or  teams  of  mules  not  only  a  practical  con- 
veyance but  a  picture  of  pioneer  days  which  fires  the  imagination 
and  stirs  the  heart.  Equally  picturesque  are  the  horsemen  spurring 
their  way  to  court  or  town. 

It  is  afoot  or  horseback  that  corn  is  taken  to  the  mill.  The 
mountain  mill  with  its  mossy  flume  dripping  in  summer  and  fringed 
with  icicles  in  winter  season,  never  fails  to  make  its  picturesque 
appeal,  whether  the  wheel  be  over  or  under  shot ;  and  then  there  is 
always  the  straggling  file  of  boys  and  men,  with  a  sack  of  corn 
across  the  shoulder,  lingering  along  the  way;  or  a  mother  perhaps 
seated  atop  the  sack  with  which  the  mule  is  loaded,  her  baby  in 
her  arms  and  another  child  at  her  back. 

There  is  romance,  too,  in  the  streams.  The  traveler  may  miss 
the  lakes  of  other  regions,  but  the  Highlands  in  spring  are  a  glitter- 
ing network  of  rushing  waters  which  gush  from  every  hill  and  hol- 
low. Summer  is  a  more  sober  season,  and  autumn,  especially  in 
the  western  belt  of  the  mountains,  finds  waters  low  in  their  stony 
beds.  Few  of  the  creeks  or  even  the  rivers  will  carry  at  any  season 
a  boat  of  deeper  draught  than  a  flat-bottomed  punt,  yet  so  swiftly 
do  they  rise  that  in  a  few  hours  or  even  minutes  a  small  branch 
may  become  a  raging  torrent,  which  raises  the  shallow  ford  beyond 
imagining  and  holds  in  check  all  travel.  With  the  rains  come  too 
the  "tides"  on  creek  and  river,  which  set  the  stranded  logs  along 
the  banks  tossing  and  whirling  down  the  current. 

Fewsights  in  the  mountains  are  more  inspiring  than  the  moving 
out  of  the  big  rafts  as,  manned  by  stalwart  mountain  hands,  they 

142 


THE  RURAL  HIGHLANDER  AT  HOME 

run  the  mad  swirl  of  the  upper  waters  and  sweep  on  to  calmer 
reaches  far  below  in  the  Lowlands. 

Log-rollings  and  house-raisings  are  not  so  general  as  in  earlier 
days,  but  he  who  would  build  a  log  dwelling  still  relies  on  the  help 
of  a  working.  A  home  is  after  all  but  a  simple  undertaking  when 
friends  and  neighbors  help  to  set  two  logs  as  skids,  roll  up  the 
others  into  place,  and  top  the  whole  with  wall-plates,  beams,  and 
rafters.  The  long  hand-split  shingles  and  the  outside  chimney  that 
just  clears  the  ridgepole  may  be  left  for  another  day,  while  the 
crowd  that  is  gathered,  conscience  free,  enjoys  the  mighty  dinner 
which  the  women  have  been  preparing. 

More  common  today  is  the  corn-husking;  and  the  crushing  of 
sorghum  cane,  and  boiling  down,  are  processes  as  delightfully  pic- 
turesque as  they  are  familiar.  Here,  while  the  fire  glows  and  the 
great  vat  sends  up  a  mist  of  yellow  steam,  are  sometimes  seen  the 
intricate  circles  of  the  country  dance,  weaving  and  swinging  in 
graceful  winding  figures  through  the  trampled  stubble  of  the  dark- 
ening field.  And  when,  the  stir-off  ended,  the  young  folks  ad- 
journ to  the  nearby  house,  the  shuflRing  of  many  feet  on  the  rough 
floor  and  the  voice  of  the  caller  ^  are  borne  far  into  the  evening  air. 
The  dust  rises  in  clouds  and  the  dancers'  faces  are  flushed  with  heat 
and  weariness,  for  it  is  no  mean  muscular  exertion  to  "run  a  set." 

The  "real  old-time  fiddler"  should  have  a  word  for  himself,  for 
he  is  an  institution  in  the  Highlands,  and  the  cheerful  scrape  of  his 
bow  sets  the  feet  involuntarily  a-moving.  He  seldom  assumes  the 
posture  of  the  modern  virtuoso,  but  lays  his  instrument  across  his 
arm  or  knee  and  so  fiddles  away — a  sociable  measure  with  none  of 
the  piercing  sweetness  generally  associated  with  the  violin.  A 
"fiddler  contest,"  in  which  all  the  local  celebrities  compete  for  an 
offered  prize,  is  a  feature  of  many  a  county  fair;  and  he  who  can 
beat  a  measure  with  a  reed  on  the  upper  portion  of  the  strings, 
while  the  player  undisturbed  continues  his  tune,  is  the  object  of 
wondering  admiration. 

The  dulcimer,  which  has  been  so  great  an  object  of  interest  to 
musicians,  is  probably  related  to  the  zither  and  came  very  possibly 
into  the  mountains  with  the  early  Germans.  It  is  rare,  and  with 
one  exception  the  writer  has  never  met  it  outside  the  mountains  of 

iJhe  one  who  calls  the  figures. 


THE  SOUTHERN  HIGHLANDER 

Kentucky.  It  is,  however,  a  quaint  and  delightful  little  instru- 
ment, and  with  its  slender  waist  and  heart-shaped  holes  as  pictur- 
esque as  fancy  could  desire.  The  music  is  monotonous  but  sweet, 
and  makes  a  pleasant  undertone  to  the  talk  of  the  evening  group. 

Strangely  enough,  the  banjo  touches  at  times  a  deeper  note  than 
the  violin,  perhaps  from  association.  It  is  more  generally  played 
throughout  the  Highlands,  and  breathes  the  life  of  many  a  lonely 
hearth  far  in  the  hills.  Usually,  however,  it  is  ofif  with  all  the  gaiety 
of  the  mountain  frolic  on  "Turkey  in  the  Straw,"  "Possum  up  a 
Gum  Stump,"  "Sugar  in  the  Gourd,"  or  "Sourwood  Mountain." 

"Gentlemen!"  so  spoke  the  famous  and  eccentric  Judge  Patten 
who  used  to  live  in  eastern  Kentucky,  "Whenever  you  see  a  great 
big  overgrown  buck  sitting  at  the  mouth  of  some  holler,  or  at  the 
forks  of  some  road,  with  a  big  slouch  hat  on,  a  blue  collar,  a  celluloid, 
artificial  rose  on  his  coat  lapel,  and  a  banjo  strung  across  his  breast, 
and  a-pickin'  of  'Sourwood  Mountain,'  fine  that  man,  gentlemen, 
fine  him !    For  if  he  hasn't  already  done  something,  he's  a-goin'  to!"i 

There  is,  too,  in  the  language,  a  quaintness  and  a  strength  which 
set  it  apart  from  the  English  commonly  used  outside  this  romantic 
section.  Not  that  the  speech  of  the  Highlanders  as  a  whole  differs 
from  that  of  their  Lowland  neighbors,  nor  are  many  expressions 
that  are  pointed  out  as  peculiar  to  the  mountains  difi"erent  from 
those  heard  occasionally  in  the  Lowland  South  or  in  parts  of  rural 
New  England,  but  they  are  used  oftener  here.  One  may,  in  a  con- 
versation of  a  few  minutes,  hear  expressions  from  Chaucer,  Spenser, 
or  Shakespeare;  or,  in  lieu  of  these,  be  struck  by  the  vividness  or 
strength  of  the  modern  phrase  chosen.  Should  ancient  and  modern 
phrase  both  fail  to  satisfy  his  need  the  Highlander,  never  at  a  loss, 
invents  a  new  one,  often  more  graphic  than  that  employed  in  more 
conventional  circles. 

"Nary"  and  "ary,"  the  sport  of  dialect  writers,  may  not  show 
their  kinship  at  once  with  "ne'er  a"  and  "e'er  a,"  through 
"never  a"  and  "ever  a"  of  obsolete  English;  though  "textes"  and 
"nestes"  and  similar  plurals  bring  to  memory  the  Pilgrims  to  Can- 
terbury. "  1  aim  to"  is  much  stronger  than  "  I  intend  to,"  and  so 
Othello  found  it.  "  Antic,"  in  the  expression  "  he  is  a  natural  antic," 

1  Combs,  Josiah  Henry:  The  Kentucky  Highlanders  from  a  Native  Moun- 
taineer's Viewpoint,  p.  23.     Lexington,  Ky.,  J.  L.  Richardson  Company,  1913. 

144 


THE  RURAL  HIGHLANDER  AT  HOME 

has  the  same  meaning  in  the  mountains  as  in  the  phrase  "veriest 
antic"  in  the  "Taming  of  the  Shrew";  and  one  is  "afeared"  in  the 
mountains,  as  in  the  "  Merry  Wives  of  Windsor."  "  Holp  us  as 
Thou  hast  holped  our  fathers"  is  no  less  a  fervent  prayer  in  the 
Httle  mountain  church-house,  because  the  preacher  has  chosen  to 
use  the  archaic  form  familiar  to  him  in  the  Scriptures.  The 
hunter  seeks  out  the  place  where  the  wild  turkeys  "use,"  as  Beau- 
mont and  Fletcher  would  have  said;  and  a  good  Shakespearian 
"sallet"  is  made  of  the  young  leaves  of  the  pokeberry  bush,  or 
of  the  mountain  cress.  The  wood  in  the  fireplace  may  not  burn 
well  because  it  is  both  "sobby"  and  "doty" — "sobby"  meaning 
soggy,  sappy,  or  soaked,  and  "doty,"  decayed. 

A  man  wishing  to  hold  a  meeting  in  the  mountains  has  it 
"norated" — that  is,  the  announcement  of  it  spread  by  report.  The 
injunction  to  "surround  the  hole  at  the  ford"  is  easily  understood 
in  its  archaic  sense  of  "go  around";  and  if  we  recall  provincial 
English,  we  understand  the  mother  who  apologizes  for  the  smeared 
condition  of  the  baby's  face  when  she  says  it  is  "all  gormed  up." 
"Right  clever  folks"  means  not  necessarily  adept,  ingenious  folk, 
but  is  a  colloquial  description  of  obliging  and  well-disposed  people. 
To  be  told  that  one  person  is  "  ill  as  a  hornet,"  and  that  another  is 
"feisty,"  suggests  on  the  one  hand  the  irritated  hornet,  ready  to 
fight,  and  on  the  other  the  little  meddlesome  dog,  or  feist,  snapping 
at  one's  heels.  Graphic  was  the  description  of  him  who  told  us  of 
his  adventures  with  a  "big  old  rattlesnake,  quiled  up  and  singing 
the  prettiest  ye  ever  heerd,"  until  he  "mashed  his  head  to  a  poul- 
tice." A  hunter,  who  sought  to  trace  the  footsteps  of  a  lost  friend, 
saw  the  "dentures"  in  the  moss,  by  which  he  found  him. 

A  young  man  "talking  to"  a  young  woman  in  the  Highlands  is 
not  giving  her  a  scolding,  as  he  might  be  understood  elsewhere  to 
be  doing,  were  he  so  rash.  He  is  paying  attentions  to  her,  and  the 
young  woman  may  be  "ashamed"  without  having  anything  to  be 
ashamed  of — she  is  merely  bashful.  Granny  has  the  sanction  of  the 
dictionary  when  she  says  that  hers  was  a  "singing  and  a  dancing 
generation,"  meaning  thereby  that  her  family  was  given  to  song 
and  dance;  but  when  she  "splunges"  the  kettle  in  water,  she  has 
the  sanction  of  the  Highlands,  which,  after  all,  is  perhaps  sanction 
enough. 

•45 


THE  SOUTHERN  HIGHLANDER 

The  use  of  the  past  participle  without  auxiliary  is  common,  as 
well  as  of  strong  or  provincial  past  tenses;  for  example:  "  he  shuck 
the  tree";   "he  drug  the  hog  to  the  pen." 

Emphasis  is  further  secured  by  a  free  use  of  the  double,  and  even 
triple  negative;  and  such  expressions  as  "hain't  never  seed  nary" 
are  not  uncommon.  Redundancies  such  as  "  church-house"  "  stair- 
steps," and  "tooth-dentist"  are  frequent. 

A  favorite  method  of  securing  a  descriptive  word  is  to  make  a 
present  participle  an  adjective  superlative  in  degree;  thus:  "He 
is  the  talkingest  man";  "he  is  the  chair-flingingest  boy";  "they 
are  the  money-makingest  people" ;  "  she  is  the  knittingest  woman." 

Here  one  may  be  "devilled  with  the  phthisic"  all  his  life,  and 
may  see  a  "  pig  in  a  poke"  without  having  to  "  study  on  it."  There 
is  a  flavor  of  the  Elizabethan  Age  in  the  description  of  the  girl 
whose  eyes  "would  puddle"  when  she  was  reproached,  however 
slightly.  Asking  the  morning  wayfarer  as  to  weather  prospects,  one 
is  surprised  to  hear  him  call  the  mackerel  sky  "clabbered"  until  its 
appropriateness  flashes  upon  him. 

"People  what  delights  to  keep  cattle"  brings  to  mind  the  joys 
of  pastoral  life  as  depicted  by  Horace. 

To  hear  a  grateful  invalid  say,  "  Hit  war  just  like  stopping  run- 
ning water  when  the  Doctor  war  away,"  carries  one,  in  the  beauty 
of  its  significance,  beyond  the  time  when  "hit"  was  used  as  the 
neuter  pronoun,  to  the  prophecies  of  Isaiah,  wherein  a  man  is 
likened  to  "an  hiding  place  from  the  wind,  and  a  covert  from  the 
tempest ;  as  rivers  of  water  in  a  dry  place,  as  the  shadow  of  a  great 
rock  in  a  weary  land." 

The  preservation  of  ballads  and  folk-songs  sung  in  England  one 
hundred  to  two  hundred  years  ago,  has  been  quite  general  in 
the  remoter  parts  of  the  Highlands  from  Kentucky  to  Georgia. 
Brought  by  the  ancestors  of  the  Highlanders  across  the  sea,  these 
echoes  of  an  earlier  day  have  been  carried  down  by  oral  trans- 
mission from  the  cabin  on  the  frontier  to  the  hearth  of  the  moun- 
tain home  today.    Many  have  been  greatly  changed^  during  their 

1  "!n  this  democratic  region,  where  lords  and  ladies  are  unknown,  'Lady  Mar- 
garet' sini<s  into  'Liddy'  or  'Lydia  Margaret,'  and  her  'bower-room'  becomes  her 
'dowe!-room.'  Lord  Orland,  warned  by  his  'tinny  foot-page,'  inquires,  'is  any  of 
my  casten  wails  fell  down?'  The  unknown  'ivory'  comb  becomes  the  'high-row' 
comb,  and  the  'parrot-bird'  is  told  that  his  'cage  shall  be  decked  of  the  yeiler 

146 


THE  RURAL  HIGHLANDER  AT  HOME 

sojourn  among  the  hills,  but  others  are  remarkably  close  to  versions 
published  in  Child's  collection  of  English  and  Scottish  ballads,  and 
to  variants  gathered  in  recent  years  in  England  and  Scotland.  The 
melodies  to  which  these  are  set  have  not  only  a  simple  and  touching 
beauty,  but  are  peculiarly  expressive  of  the  temperament  and  en- 
vironment of  the  people.  The  isolation  of  the  Highlands  has  pre- 
served these  songs,  and  it  is  not  surprising  that  they  are  fast  dis- 
appearing with  the  opening  up  of  the  country.  This  is  true  also, 
in  a  measure,  of  the  old  religious  songs,  as  the  more  modern  and 
oftentimes  inferior  hymns  become  popularized. 

Those  who  have  watched  the  long  procession  of  a  mountain 
funeral,  winding  slowly  to  the  hill-top,  where  cemeteries  are  almost 
always  placed,  and  have  heard  the  singing  as  it  goes,  will  never 
forget  the  beauty  and  impressiveness  of  some  of  the  old  burial 
hymns. 


Oh    -    -    come,   come  with  me         to     the    old     church    yard 


I  well    know  the  way       thro'     the        soft  green        sward 

beaten  gold,  and  hung  on  the  ivory.'  Lord  Randall  is  no  longer  'fain  to  lie  down,' 
but  'sick  to  the  heart  and  fainting  to  lie  down,'  and  as  a  parting  gift,  bequeaths  to 
his  father  his  'wagon  and  oxen.' 

"Where  no  one  rings  a  door-bell  or  'tirls  a  pin,'  but  calls  his  greeting  in  frontier 
fashion  from  the  road,  'Lord  Thomas'  indifferently  'tingles,'  'jangles,'  'dingles,' 
'knocks  at,'  and  'darts  out  at'  the  'ring'  or  'wire.'  'Lord,'  or  'Love  Henry,'  as 
he  is  called,  boasts  to  his  old  sweetheart  of  the  girl  that  he  left,  not  at  Clydes  Water, 
but  in  Tennessee  or  Arkansas,  and 

'As  they  was  leaning  over  the  fence 
Taking  kisses  all  so  sweet. 
She  had  in  her  hand  a  keen  penny  knife 
And  she  perched  him  sharp  and  deep.' 

— Cf.  Child,  No.  68  C. 

"Here  the  singer,  who  has  been  rocking  her  chair  gently  before  the  open  fire, 
pauses  to  remark:  'Just  like  a  jealous  woman!'  It  is  the  truth  of  the  song  to  ele- 
mental human  nature  that  makes  it  real  to  her,  and  it  is  none  the  less  real  because 
it  deals  with  a  social  life,  with  localities,  objects,  and  terms  widely  remote  from 
anything  with  which  she  is  familiar."— Campbell,  Olive  Dame:  "  Songs  and  Ballads 
of  the  Southern  Mountains,"  Survey,  January  2,  1915. 

147 


or: 


THE  SOUTHERN  HIGHLANDER 


n  a 

Ov 

A      «■ 

o\ 

^  '> 

:i** 

'^         Ik-               f*>               »^ 

n            1               n     1 

J    •* 

-A ^^—1—1 fc— 

~1      J    1  ^— 

— 1-»" 

-• t-»-J 1 i— 1 — 

~r^ — f^ — \ — 

"«~ 

•   J    J 

J      1 

Z^—^-m-^— 

J  ^ 

-• sH = '-^—m — 

\Jv  7                   ' 

d    ' 

IF 

1^1             .       •          ^ 

.                     * 

^■^ 

• 

' 

When     I     can  read      my       ti  -  tie   clear:      To    man-sions  in   the 


■¥r- 


-«- 


^- 


-m — ^ -»■ 

I'll     bid     fare-well       to      ev   -   ry  care,       and  wipe  my 

Chorus.  ^      ^ 


^ 


■:^- 


^^ 


weep  -  mg  eyes. 


f 


N- 


Been    a     long  time  trav   -    ling     here      be  -  low; 


K 


-*-il- 


w- 


laiiM- 


— JS- 


-i*|- 


-■• — Mj 
^ 


Been   a     long  time  trav  -  ling     a    -    way  from    my  home,     Been  a 


u     >^ 


/^ 


rt^ 


-P^ 


13! 


-p;- 


K 


-K- 


:^=4i^ 


■<Si- 


long  time  trav  -  ling     here   be -low,        To     lay  this  bod  -  y       down. 

There  is  something  indescribably  pathetic  about  most  of  these 
graveyards,  with  the  Httle  cluster  of  mounds  roughly  fenced  from 
the  forest.  Often  the  graves  are  protected  from  wandering  and 
rooting  animals  by  low  latticed  houses  painted  blue  and  white. 
Beyond  this  there  are  few  signs  of  care,  and  the  "soft  green  sward" 
of  the  hymn  is  entirely  lacking  on  the  barren  top  of  the  wind-swept 
hill.  Many  times,  however,  the  "banch"  of  the  mountain  where 
they  lie  commands  a  sweep  of  valley,  ridge,  and  peak,  stretching  on 
and  on  in  swales  and  billows  till  they  seem  to  melt  in  the  blue  of 
the  Beyond. 

A  funeral  preaching  brings  a  great  concourse  to  these  sad  little 
heights.  Writers  and  speakers  have  made  much  of  deferred  funeral 
preachings,  seemingly  finding  something  very  strange  and  striking 
in  them.  They  are,  after  all,  only  memorial  services  delayed,  of 
necessity,  until  the  preacher  could  be  present  at  a  propitious  season, 

148 


THE  RURAL  HIGHLANDER  AT  HOME 

usually  in  the  fall  when  there  is  enough  of  food  and  fodder  to  supply 
both  the  people  and  stock.  Cases  have  been  known  where  a 
preaching  did  not  take  place  until  seventy-five  years  after  the 
death  of  the  subject  of  the  discourse,  but  it  is  customary  to  have  it 
as  soon  as  conditions  make  it  convenient,  which  for  different  rea- 
sons may  not  be  for  several  years.  Arrangements  are  generally 
made  some  time  in  advance  in  order  that  there  may  be  a  large 
gathering.  Naturally  the  day  is  not  one  of  deep  grief  to  many  of 
those  present.  They  have  come  in  sober  wise  as  the  occasion  be- 
fitted, but  something  too  in  the  manner  of  a  holiday,  when  neighbor 
may  visit  with  neighbor  seldom  seen  and  learn  the  news  of  the 
intervening  years.  Usually  there  are  several  preachers,  each  of 
whom  may  speak  for  two  or  three  hours  at  a  time,  being  succeeded 
when  he  is  at  length  exhausted.  A  good  deal  of  informality  is  mani- 
fested about  listening  to  the  whole  of  all  of  the  discourses,  but  there 
is  a  courteous  hearing  given  to  each  man  although  the  audience 
may  vary  from  time  to  time.  At  noon  a  general  rest  is  taken,  and 
sometimes  the  opportunity  is  utilized  for  a  baptizing. 

The  long  delays  that  precede  such  memorial  services  and  the 
largeness  of  the  gatherings  lead  to  situations  which  have  dramatic 
and  what  would  seem  to  be  at  times  embarrassing  aspects.  Thus, 
the  funeral  preaching  for  a  man  who  has  been  shot  may  be  attended 
by  the  near  relatives  of  the  murderer,  who  listen  to  an  account  of 
the  quarrel,  the  shooting,  and  the  succeeding  days  of  suffering,  from 
which  no  detail  is  omitted;  while  the  memorial  sermon  for  a  wife 
long  dead  is  heard  by  the  new  wife,  who  weeps  with  her  husband 
and  meekly  accepts  the  bidding  of  the  preacher  to  be  kind  to  her 
"poor  little  stepchildren." 

Underlying  this  custom,  however,  is  a  real  significance  and  use. 
In  fact  many  things  that  have  been  pointed  out  as  indicative  of  a 
"  peculiar  people"  are,  on  better  acquaintance,  perceived  to  be  only 
wise  or  necessary  adaptations  of  means  to  ends  in  an  exceedingly 
rural  section.    The  picturesque  has  obscured  the  natural. 

There  is  a  romantic  appeal,  too,  in  some  of  the  darker  aspects  of 
mountain  life.  It  is  this  appeal,  undoubtedly,  and  not  a  desire  to 
misrepresent,  that  has  led  the  journalist  and  writer  of  fiction  to 
fasten  upon  the  mountain  people  as  a  whole  the  reputation  of  being 
feudists  and  m.oonshiners.     Instinctivel\'  they  see  in  the  lonely  hol- 

149 


THE  SOUTHERN  HIGHLANDER 

low  the  proper  setting  for  the  ilHcit  still,  then  in  imagination  the 
smoke  of  the  still  itself  rising  among  the  misty  tree-tops.  The 
woman  calling  to  her  husband  on  the  hillside  is  warning  him  of  the 
approach  of  strangers.  The  far  glint  of  mica  is  the  sun  on  his  gun- 
barrel.  The  remote  mill  seemingly  smothered  in  a  narrow  green 
gorge  or  set  by  a  lonely  rush  of  waters  is  a  moonshine  mill,  and  the 
innocent  horseman  with  his  sack  of  corn  is  the  blockader  in  pursuit 
of  his  trade.  And  there  is  just  enough  approach  to  fact  in  this 
picture  to  fasten  it  in  the  mind. 

The  traveler  who  meets  suddenly  five  tall  dark  men  galloping 
through  the  rain,  their  horses  steaming  in  the  wet,  and  learns  that 
they  are  in  truth  United  States  marshals,  summoned  because  it 
was  not  safe  for  the  sheriff  to  face  the  animosity  of  this  region, 
thrills  involuntarily;  nor  is  he  likely  soon  to  forget  his  impression 
nor  the  stories  that  cluster  about  the  incident.  And  what  more 
fitting  close  to  a  day  that  gives  so  dramatic  an  experience  than  to 
plunge  at  night  with  his  companions  into  the  deep  black  ford,  to 
find  on  yon  side  the  river  the  sheriff's  son,  forsooth,  who  had  heard 
the  splashing  of  the  feet  of  many  horses  in  the  ford  and  had  come 
to  learn  the  cause,  it  is  of  small  moment  that  the  marshals  re- 
turn the  next  day  without  adventure.  From  the  traveler's  point 
of  view  local  color  is  complete.  He  is  not,  perhaps,  to  be  blamed 
if  he  gets  a  perspective  warped  by  one  experience.  Nor  is  it  the 
fault  of  the  Highlander,  but  rather  his  misfortune,  that  the  setting 
of  his  life  and  many  of  its  natural  aspects  lend  themselves  in- 
evitably to  a  dramatic  interpretation. 

In  time,  and  the  time  in  some  places  is  at  hand,  the  isolation  of 
the  Highlands  will  be  overcome  by  railroads  and  good  thorough- 
fares and  their  wild  beauty  disfigured  by  commercial  exploitation, 
while  the  Highlander  himself,  his  individualism  and  his  picturesque- 
ness  gone,  will  become  no  better,  no  worse,  but  quite  as  uninterest- 
ing as  other  men. 

He  who  stands  where  once  the  Tallulah  River  in  northern 
Georgia  leaped,  a  foaming  torrent  of  waterfalls  and  rapids  through 
a  gray  gorge  whose  steep  sides  were  set  with  moss  and  bloom,  can- 
not but  regret  the  passing  of  that  beauty.  He  knows  that  the 
electricity  generated  by  that  immense  volume  of  water  passes  a 
hundred  miles  or  more  to  cities  which  have  never  seen  its  source, 

150 


THE  RURAL  HIGHLANDER  AT  HOME 

but  something  has  gone  from  out  the  land— not  only  of  beauty,  but 
of  strength. 

It  is  the  part  of  those,  both  native  and  foreign,  who  have  the 
interest  of  the  Highland  country  at  heart,  to  see  that  all  that  is 
strong  and  fair  in  that  life  is  not  drained  away  to  other  regions, 
it  should  be  a  reservoir  clean  and  beautiful  in  itself,  ministering 
to  its  own  needs  yet  the  source  from  which  the  exhausted  pools 
of  urban  life  may  find  renewal  and  refreshment. 


151 


CHAPTER  VIII 

THE  GROWTH  OF   DENOMINATIONALISM  IN 

THE  HIGHLANDS 

IF  ANY  phaseof  mountain  life  callsfor  sympatheticunderstand- 
ing  it  is  the  spiritual  phase,  in  comparison  with  which  all  else 
is  of  minor  importance.  To  those  who  do  not  grasp  the  thought 
that  in  certain  sections  of  the  mountains  a  somewhat  border  and 
frontier  stage  of  society  still  prevails,  some  of  the  Highlander's  acts 
may  seem  impossible  for  one  possessed  of  any  spirituality.  To 
those,  on  the  other  hand,  who  realize  in  how  great  degree  his  stan- 
dards are  the  result  of  his  environment  and  of  his  inheritance  from 
his  pioneer  ancestors,  understanding  is  not  so  difficult,  nor  will 
they  doubt  the  genuineness  of  his  religious  convictions,  although 
certain  questions  in  connection  with  the  religious  life  of  the  High- 
lands are  still  the  subject  of  much  speculation. 

If  the  early  settlers  of  the  mountains  were  Scotch-Irish,  how  does 
it  happen  that  the  mountain  people  of  today  are  not  strongly 
Presbyterian,  is  the  query  most  often  put.  Granting,  in  the  begin- 
ning, that  Presbyterianism  is  not  the  dominant  faith  of  the  High- 
lands, we  must  turn  for  an  understanding  of  this  fact  back  again  to 
the  latter  part  of  the  eighteenth  century,  and  there,  in  the  condi- 
tions of  the  mountain  wilderness,  as  they  were  affected  by  the  reli- 
gious movements  of  the  period,  will  be  found  an  explanation  of 
much  that  would  otherwise  seem  puzzling  in  the  religious  expression 
of  the  mountains  today. 

Among  the  early  settlers  on  the  western  frontier  there  existed  a 
strong  religious  element,  the  dominant  faith  being  without  doubt 
that  held  by  most  of  the  Scotch-Irish — Presbyterianism.  The  Ger- 
mans, too,  were  largely  non-conformists,  although  divided  among 
a  number  of  sects  of  which  the  most  important  were  the  German 
Reformed,  the  Lutherans,  and  Moravians.  That  some  of  these 
sects  remained  as  separate  congregations  for  years  in  the  wilderness 

152 


THE  GROWTH  OF  DENOMINATIONALISM 

is  indicated  by  the  diaries  of  early  missionaries,  as  well  as  by  the 
history  of  certain  local  churches  which  have  existed  continuously 
from  the  time  of  their  establishment  up  to  the  present  day.  Many 
congregations,  however,  became  in  time  affiliated  with  the  Presby- 
terians, which  denomination  for  some  years  was  almost  the  only 
one  to  maintain  established  ministers  on  the  frontier.  Especially 
was  this  true,  says  Faust, ^  of  the  German  Reformed  churches, 
whose  doctrines,  held  probably  by  most  of  the  Palatinates,  were 
very  close  to  those  of  the  Presbyterians.  Of  a  list  given  by  Bern- 
heim^  of  fifteen  German  churches  (nine  Lutheran  and  six  Reformed) 
in  interior  South  Carolina  in  1788,  seven  of  the  nine  Lutherans  were 
still  in  being  in  1872,  while  all  of  the  others  had  ceased  to  exist. 
This  was  due  in  large  part  to  the  fact  that  the  congregations,  having 
no  ministers  of  their  own,  joined  other  denominations. 

How  few  ministers  of  any  denomination  there  were  in  the  moun- 
tain region  about  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth  century  may  be  in- 
ferred from  the  accounts  of  early  missionaries  to  which  reference 
has  just  been  made.  Particularly  interesting  are  the  diaries  of  the 
Moravian  missionaries,^  Schnell,  Gottschalk,  and  Spangenburg, 
who  made  numerous  visits  to  the  frontier.  Schnell,  who  appears  to 
have  been  in  the  West  as  early  as  1 743,  says  of  his  visit  to  the  people 
on  the  South  Branch  of  the  Potomac,  July  17,  1747:  "After  the 
sermon  the  people  complained  about  their  poor  condition,  that  they 
had  no  minister,  while  in  Pennsylvania  there  were  so  many.  They 
asked  me  to  stay  with  them.  Then  they  brought  me  about  six 
children,  whom  I  should  baptize,  but  I  had  to  refuse."  (The  Mora- 
vians did  not  baptize  children.) 

"July  20:  At  noon  we  stopped  with  an  Englishman.  He  com- 
plained that  for  two  years  he  had  heard  no  sermon,  although  he 
had  been  compelled  every  year  to  pay  for  the  county  minister." 

I n  1 749  on  his  return  from  New  River,  Schnell  visited  the  Scotch- 
Irish  settlements  near  Fincastle,  and  volunteers  the  comment:  "A 

'  Faust,  Albert  Bernhardt:  The  German  Element  in  the  United  States,  Vol.  I, 
p.  123,  and  Vol.  11,  p.  419.     Boston,  Houghton,  Mifflin,  and  Co.,  1909. 

*  Bernheim,  G.  D.:  History  of  the  German  Settlements,  and  of  the  Lutheran 
Church  in  North  and  South  Carolina,  p.  300  ff.  Philadelphia,  the  Lutheran  Book- 
store, 1872. 

'  "Moravian  Diaries  of  Travels  through  Virginia,"  edited  by  \V.  J.  Hinke  and 
C.  E.  Kemper,     yirginia  Historical  Maga-ine,  Vols.  XI  and  XII,  1903  and  1904. 


THE  SOUTHERN  HIGHLANDER 

kind  of  white  people  are  found  here  who  live  like  savages.  Hunting 
is  their  chief  occupation." 

Bishop  Spangenburg,  who  visited  the  settlements  in  the  extreme 
southern  part  of  Pendleton  County,  West  Virginia,  in  1748, 
preached  the  first  sermons  ever  preached  there,  while  in  1775,  Rev. 
Hugh  McAden,  a  young  Presbyterian  missionary,  traveled  through 
a  section  of  northwestern  South  Carolina  never  visited  before  by  a 
clergyman.  On  November  2d  he  preached  to  a  people  "many  of 
whom  I  was  told,"  he  writes,  "  had  never  heard  a  sermon  in  all  their 
lives  before,  and  yet  several  of  them  had  families."  One  old  man, 
he  adds,  "  had  never  seen  a  shirt,  been  in  a  fair,  heard  a  sermon,  or 
seen  a  minister. "^ 

There  was  at  this  time  no  settled  Presbyterian  pastor  in  North 
Carolina,  and  but  three,  all  Irish  born,  were  reported  in  western 
Virginia  in  1748 — one  in  Albemarle  County  and  two  in  Augusta, 
west  of  the  mountains.  The  people,  however,  were  frequently  or- 
ganized into  congregations  even  though  the  majority  had  to  rely 
upon  one  of  their  number  to  read  lessons  or  sermons,  or  upon  the 
occasional  missionary. 

Hanna,  in  his  history  of  the  Scotch-Irish,  gives  long  lists  of  early 
Presbyterian  congregations  in  America.  As  nearly  as  can  be  deter- 
mined, 138  of  these  were  mountain  congregations,  organized  be- 
tween 1737  and  1799  and  spread  over  a  territory  extending  "in 
length  from  the  New  River  on  the  northeast  to  the  frontiers  on  the 
Tennessee  River  on  the  southwest,  at  present  about  200  miles;  and 
from  the  Blue  or  eastern  Ridge  of  the  Appalachian  Mountains  to 
the  Cumberland  Mountains,  about  140  miles  in  breadth. "^ 

It  will  be  recalled  that  jurisdiction  over  a  large  part  of  this  region 
was  claimed  for  some  time  by  the  colony  of  Virginia  in  which  the 
Church  of  England  was  established  by  law.  Under  the  Toleration 
Act  (passed  by  the  English  Parliament  in  1689),^  Dissenters  were 
permitted  to  worship  in  their  own  way  provided  they  took  oaths  of 

^  Ford,  Henry  Jones:  The  Scotch-Irish  in  America,  p.  403.  Princeton  Univer- 
sity Press,  19 1 3. 

2  Hanna,  Charles  A.:  The  Scotch-Irish  in  America,  Vol.  H,  pp.  108-118.     G.  P 
Putnam's  Sons,  1902. 

^  The  construction  put  upon  this  act  was  more  liberal  in  England  than  in  Vir- 
ginia. In  Virginia  the  licensing  of  ministers  and  registering  of  meeting-houses  were 
in  the  hands  of  the  General  Court,  a  body  composed  of  the  conservative  and  aristo- 
cratic officials  of  the  colony,  while  in  England  these  functions  lay  with  local  courts. 


THE  GROWTH  OF  DENOMINATIONALISM 

allegiance  and  supremacy,  declared  against  transubstantiation,  had 
meeting-houses  legally  registered,  and  ministers  duly  licensed  under 
certain  restrictions.  The  Scotch-Irish  settlers  on  the  western 
frontier  were  furthermore  given  to  understand  by  Governor  Gooch 
of  Virginia,  when  an  appeal  was  made  to  him  by  the  Synod  of 
Pennsylvania  in  1739,  that  no  interference  would  be  made  with 
their  religious  observances  provided  that  they  "conform  them- 
selves to  the  rules  provided  by  the  Act  of  Toleration  in  England,  by 
taking  the  oaths  enjoined  thereby,  and  registering  the  place  of  their 
meeting,  and  behave  themselves  peaceably."  in  fact  persecution 
would  have  defeated  the  policy  which  had  been  pursued,  of  encour- 
aging the  migration  of  Dissenters  to  the  frontier,  as  a  protection  to 
the  colony  against  the  incursions  of  Indians  and  French.  The  in- 
accessibility of  the  mountain  country  was  in  itself  an  additional 
guarantee  of  freedom  of  faith. 

While  conditions  thus  tended  to  confirm  the  mountain  popula- 
tion in  their  independent  views,  so  largely  Presbyterian  at  that 
time,  they  also  gave  freedom  in  some  degree  from  the  dominance 
of  the  Established  Church,  certain  features  of  which  were  very 
oppressive  to  Dissenters  in  Tidewater  Virginia  who  were  more 
closely  in  touch  with  centers  of  church  and  government  control. 

The  law  of  the  colony  called  for  the  establishment  of  a  parish 
whenever  a  new  county  was  formed.  Control  of  local  aflfairs^  was 
largely  in  the  hands  of  the  vestry.  This  body,  which  after  1662^ 
was  made  self-perpetuating,  was  formed  by  the  election  of  twelve 
substantial  landholders,  who  in  taking  the  oath  of  office  bound 

1  Administration  of  justice  and  various  other  county  concerns  were  attended  to 
by  the  County  Court,  an  appointive  body. 

2  "The  intolerance  of  the  Cavalier  element  in  England,  more  political  than  re- 
ligious, was  reflected  in  Virginia  by  the  Assembly  of  1662." 

"The  legislation  of  this  year  fixed  the  character  of  the  church  up  to  the  Revolu- 
tion. The  vestries  were  given  all  power  in  parochial  matters,  and,  at  the  same  time, 
were  made  irresponsible.  A  vestry  once  elected  by  the  people  of  the  parish  might 
fill  its  own  vacancies,  and  so  continue  to  rule  for  many  years  without  being  called 
to  account.  Vestries  fixed  the  amount  of  the  assessment  for  the  minister's  salary, 
church  expenses,  poor  relief,  and  the  individual  apportionment.  They  transacted 
the  parochial  business  and  presented  the  minister.  As  a  consequence,  a  few  leading 
gentlemen  in  each  neighborhood  administered  religious  matters  to  suit  themselves, 
and  the  great  mass  of  parishioners  could  make  no  protest.  In  many  cases,  how- 
ever, the  vestries  doubtless  acted  in  accordance  with  public  sentiment,  especially 
in  keeping  ministers'  salaries  as  low  as  possible." — Eckenrode,  H.  J.:  Separation  of 
Church  and  State  in  Virginia,  Special  Report  of  the  Department  of  Archives  and 
History,  pp.  12,  13.  Richmond,  Va.,  1910. 
12  155 


THE  SOUTHERN  HIGHLANDER 

themselves  to  conform  to  the  doctrine  and  discipHne  of  the  Church 
of  England. 

Mcllwaine  in  his  very  interesting  account  of  The  Struggle  of 
Protestant  Dissenters  for  Religious  Toleration  in  Virginia/  speak- 
ing of  the  formation  of  the  vestries  of  Frederick  and  Augusta 
Counties,  1744-1746,  at  a  time  when  these  counties  covered  the 
whole  of  the  mountain  country  of  Virginia,  says: 

At  first  sight  it  would  seem  that  it  would  be  hard  to  find  in 
counties  whose  population  consisted  almost  entirely  of  Dissenters 
twelve  representative  men  qualified  to  take  the  oaths.  But  such 
was  not  the  case.  The  leading  men  of  the  section,  knowing  that 
each  parish,  as  soon  as  it  had  been  once  established,  was  in  itself 
practically  independent,  overcame  what  scruples  they  may  have 
had  in  the  premises,  and  carried  out  this  provision  of  the  law. 

and  he  quotes  Peyton  as  saying,  in  his  History  of  Augusta  County, 

that: 

The  first  vestry  of  Augusta  Parish  was  doubtless  largely  com- 
posed of  Dissenters,  men  who,  so  far  as  religion  was  concerned, 
were  politically  Episcopalians  and  doctrinally  Presbyterians,  but 
willing  to  submit  outwardly  to  the  powers  in  being,  while  they 
held  themselves  free  to  have  their  own  private  opinions.^ 

While,  therefore,  Dissenters  in  general  were  technically  disquali- 
fied for  holding  office,  and  at  the  same  time  taxed  for  support  of  the 
Establishment,  the  Dissenters  west  of  the  mountains  from  the  be- 
ginning practically  controlled  local  affairs.  One  of  the  disabilities 
most  keenly  felt  by  them  was  that  their  ministers  were  unable  to 
perform  marriages  legally  valid — a  prohibition  working  real  hard- 
ship in  a  region  where  ministers  of  the  Established  Church  were 
almost  non-existent. 

1  Mcllwaine,  Henry  R.:  The  Struggle  of  Protestant  Dissenters  for  Religious 
Toleration  in  Virginia,  Johns  Hopkins  University  Studies  in  Historical  and  Political 
Science,  li'th  Series,  No.  IV,  Ch.  IV.     April,  1894. 

*  Further  referring  to  Peyton's  History,  Mcllwaine  adds: 

"In  the  regulation  of  church  services,  a  spirit  of  compromise  was  displayed. 
The  minister  was  a  regularly  ordained  Episcopalian,  but  Dissenters  sometimes 
occupied  his  pulpit.  Gown  and  surplice  were  not  used  by  the  minister,  and  the 
congregation  received  the  sacrament  standing.  But  this  offshoot  of  the  Estab- 
lished Church  did  not  flourish.  The  congregation  dwindled  away  when,  owing  to 
the  increase  of  Presbyterian  ministers  in  that  section,  the  people  had  an  opportunity 
of  worshipping  in  a  manner  more  in  accordance  with  their  preferences."  Ibid., 
Ch.  IV. 

156 


THE  GROWTH  OF  DENOMINATIONALISM 

Thus  it  came  about,  that  although  western  Virginia  could  be 
relied  upon  to  support  radical  democratic  measures,  and  did  in 
fact  have  a  decisive  influence^  in  later  efforts  to  bring  about  separa- 
tion of  Church  and  State,  the  initial  steps  in  securing  religious 
toleration  were  taken,  and  the  brunt  of  the  conflict  for  complete 
religious  independence  was  borne  by  the  Dissenters  east  of  the 
mountains — by  the  Presbyterians  first,  and  later  in  marked  degree 
by  the  Baptists. 

The  story  of  the  struggle  for  religious  freedom  in  Virginia  is  a 
familiar  one,  but  inasmuch  as  it  helps  to  cast  a  light  upon  the 
religious  affiliations  and  conditions  in  the  Southern  Highland  region 
today,  a  brief  review  of  it  must  be  given  here. 

The  early  Presbyterians  east  of  the  Blue  Ridge  seem  to  have  met 
with  little  opposition  as  long  as  they  concerned  themselves  with 
their  own  affairs  in  an  orderly  fashion,  even  when  they  failed  to 
secure  licenses  for  ministers  and  for  meeting  places  as  demanded 
in  the  Act  of  Toleration.  When,  however,  attacks  began  to  be 
made  upon  the  Established  Church  and  the  ranks  of  Dissent  to  be 
augmented  from  Lowland  counties  in  which  the  Established  Church 
was  strongest,  repressive  measures  were  taken  by  the  Colonial 
Council — measures  which  were  as  much  an  effort  to  check  en- 
croachments upon  social  and  political  privileges  as  a  defense  of  the 
Anglican  Church.  The  struggle  was  not  marked  by  any  great  per- 
secution, the  means  adopted  being  usually  fmes  and  refusals  to 
grant  licenses. 

The  object  sought  by  the  Presbyterians  at  this  time  seems  not  to 
have  been  separation  of  Church  and  State,  although  protests  were 
made  against  the  payment  of  parochial  dues.  Efforts  were  mainly 
directed  toward  securing  the  liberal  construction  of  the  Toleration 
Act  enjoyed  in  England  but  not  accepted  by  the  Virginia  Court, 
and  in  attaining  this  the  denomination  gained  a  substantial  and 
influential  place  in  the  life  of  the  colony. 

The  lo>'al  defense  afforded  by  the  frontier  Presb>'terians  in  the 

'  "  It  was  due  largely  to  the  solid  western  vote  in  1784  in  union  with  some  of  the 
Piedmont  and  Southern  Virginia  representatives,  that  a  bill  for  a  general  state 
assessment  in  support  of  religion,  failed  to  pass.  Practically,  the  separation  of 
Church  and  State  in  the  west  was  completed  in  1782,  with  the  dissohing  of  some  of 
the  last  vestries." — Eckenrode,  H.  J.:  The  Separation  of  Church  and  State  in  Vir- 
ginia, p.  98. 


THE  SOUTHERN  HIGHLANDER 

French  and  Indian  War  had  much  to  do  with  the  increased  leniency 
shown  them  by  the  Colonial  Council  at  the  close  of  the  war;  but 
the  spread  of  their  numbers,  and  of  democratic  ideas  in  general, 
was  also  responsible  for  the  growth  of  their  influence. 

The  part  played  in  the  spread  of  Dissenting  doctrines  by  the  con- 
dition of  the  Established  Church  was  great.  It  would  seem  now 
that  the  "profligacy"  of  the  Anglican  clergy,  so  often  advanced  as 
a  cause  of  the  decline  of  the  Established  Church,  has  been  much 
exaggerated.  Greater  cause  lay  in  the  inability  of  the  State  Church, 
characterized  in  that  age  by  a  cold  formalism,  and  dominated  by  a 
political  and  social  aristocracy,  to  hold  its  own  against  the  fervid 
enthusiasm  of  Presbyterian,  Baptist,  and  Methodist  preachers 
under  the  influence  of  the  Great  Awakening. 

The  awakening  of  popular  emotion  in  the  ordered  life  of  old 
Virginia  was  startling  in  its  manifestations  because  this  was  the 
first  occasion.  The  poorer  people,  hitherto  unreached  by  the 
establishment,  were  stirred  to  the  core  by  the  wandering  Baptist 
preachers,  who  walked  the  highways  and  byroads,  preaching  in 
season  and  out  and  reproducing  the  apostolic  age.  The  phe- 
nomena of  the  movement  were  such  as  mark  all  great  revivals — 
hysteria,  contortions,  raptures,  and  even  coma.  The  contrast  be- 
tween the  overpowering  sermons  of  the  evangelists  and  the  short 
prosy  moral  discourses  of  the  Anglican  ministers  was  great,  and 
between  the  points  of  view  of  the  two  schools  even  greater,  so 
that  in  time,  as  a  result  of  the  evangelical  triumph,  the  "new 
light"  religion  came  to  be  considered  the  only  valid  form  of 
Christianity,  and  the  unworthiness  of  the  old  parsons  grew  into 
a  sort  of  legend.^ 

The  success  gained  by  the  Presbyterians  opened  the  way  to  the 
larger  liberty  which  was  to  follow,  but  it  remained  for  the  Baptists 
to  take  the  next  step  by  refusing  to  abide  by  the  Toleration  Act 
and  by  demanding  complete  religious  liberty.  There  would  seem 
to  have  been  as  early  as  1714  a  group  of  General  Baptists^  in  south- 
eastern Virginia,  and  a  number  of  Regular  Baptist  churches  were 
by  the  middle  of  the  century  situated  in  the  Virginia  Valley  and  in 
the  Piedmont  at  the  base  of  the  Blue  Ridge.    The  total  membership 

'  ibid.,  p.  36. 

^  Arminian  in  doctrine;  thiat  is,  empihasizing  tlie  belief  that  salvation  is  for  all  as 
against  the  Calvinistic  view  which  emphasizes  the  doctrine  of  election. 

158 


THE  GROWTH  OF  DENOMINATIONALISM 

of  this  latter  group  in  1770  is  said  to  have  been  but  little  over  600. 
The  great  Baptist  movement  had  its  inception  with  the  Separate 
Baptists.  This  sect,  which  owed  its  beginnings  to  Shubal  Stearns, 
a  Boston  preacher  who  in  1751  established  a  church  in  Guilford 
County,  North  Carolina,  spread  rapidly  through  North  Carolina 
into  Virginia,  even  into  the  most  populous  parts  of  the  colony  where 
the  hold  of  the  Established  Church  was  strongest. 

The  rapid  growth  of  the  Separate  Baptists  was  due  to  several 
causes,  but  the  fundamental  democracy  of  their  appeal,  the  right 
of  every  man,  no  matter  how  poor  and  unlettered  he  might  be,  to 
think  for  himself  in  matters  of  religion  and  to  lead  others,  was  at 
the  base  of  the  response  found  in  the  common  folk  of  the  country. 
At  first,  to  be  sure,  the  intensely  emotional  and  highly  dramatic 
and  even  grotesque  methods  of  the  Separate  preachers  seem  to  have 
aroused  ridicule  and  even  fear.  In  his  account  of  the  Baptists  in 
Virginia,  Thom  states: 

Colonel  Samuel  Harriss,  Rev.  John  Koones,  and  others  were 
•  beaten  with  clubs  and  cuflFed  and  kicked  and  hauled  about  by  the 
hair;  mobs  ducked  some  preachers  till  they  were  nearly  drowned; 
a  live  snake  and  a  hornet's  nest  were,  upon  different  occasions, 
thrown  into  the  meetings  to  break  them  up;  and  drunken 
ruffians  insulted  the  preachers.^ 

As  the  people,  however,  came  to  realize  that  the  Baptists  in  reality 
were  fighting  their  battles,  violence  practically  ceased. 

The  close  connection  of  the  Colonial  Government,  the  Estab- 
lished Church,  and  the  aristocracy  of  the  Tidewater,  makes  it  im- 
possible to  treat  the  movement  as  solely  religious,  it  was  more 
than  that — it  was  a  protest  against  religious,  social,  and  political 
privilege — and  because  education  was  so  closely  associated  with  the 
privileged  classes,  somewhat,  too,  against  education. 

As  soon  as  it  began  to  be  evident  that  the  growth  of  the  Baptists 
threatened  not  alone  the  authority  of  the  Established  Church  but 
of  the  privileged  classes  as  well,  a  bitter  persecution  was  begun 
against  them  by  the  aristocracy  of  the  Tidewater.  Ministers  were 
flogged,  starved,  and  imprisoned,  but  the  Baptists  throve  on  per- 
secution. 

^  Thom,  William  Taylor:  The  Struggle  for  Religious  Freedom  in  Virginia:  The 
Baptists,  Johns  Hopkins  University  Studies,  Series  XVllI,  1900. 


THE  SOUTHERN  HIGHLANDER 

"Persecution,"  says  Hawks/  "made  friends  for  its  victims; 
and  the  men  who  were  not  permitted  to  speak  in  pubHc,  found 
wilHng  auditors  in  the  sympathizing  crowds  who  gathered  around 
the  prisons  to  hear  them  preach  from  the  grated  windows.  It  is 
not  improbable  that  this  very  opposition  imparted  strength  in 
another  mode,  inasmuch  as  it  at  least  furnished  the  Baptists  with 
a  common  ground  on  which  to  make  resistance;  and  such  com- 
mon ground  was  in  a  great  degree  wanting  in  their  creed ;  for  not 
to  speak  of  their  great  division  into  Regulars  and  Separates, 
some  'held  to  predestination,  others  to  universal  provision; 
some  adhered  to  a  confession  of  faith,  others  would  have  none 
but  the  Bible;  some  practised  laying  on  of  hands,  others  did 
not;'  and,  in  fact,  the  only  particular  in  which  there  seems  to 
have  been  unanimity,  was  in  the  favorite  exclusive  opinion  of 
the  sect,  that  none  but  adult  believers  are  fit  subjects  of  baptism, 
and  that  immersion  is  the  only  effectual  and  authorized  mode  of 
administering  that  sacrament." 

As  a  result  of  this  agitation,  where  in  1770  there  were  something 
over  1,000  Baptists,  in  1774  there  were  over  5,000,  and  according 
to  estimates  of  Benedict  they  had  the  sympathy  of  one  out  of 
every  ten  free  white  inhabitants  of  Virginia.^  The  greatest  acces- 
sions came  from  the  early  settled  rich  Tidewater  counties,  and  as 
was  natural,  the  first  converts  were  usually  from  the  poorer  classes. 
Gradually,  however,  as  the  movement  gathered  strength,  the  more 
well-to-do  and  intelligent  began  to  join  the  Church.^  On  the 
frontier  there  was  little  or  no  persecution. 

1  Hawks,  Francis  L.:  A  Narrative  of  Events  Connected  with  the  Rise  and  Prog- 
ress of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  in  Virginia,  p.  121.  New  York,  Harper 
Bros.,  1836. 

2Thom,  William  Taylor:  The  Struggle  for  Religious  Freedom  in  Virginia:  The 
Baptists. 

Mt  is  interesting  to  note  the  reasons  Howell,  the  Baptist  historian,  advances  to 
account  for  the  failure  of  the  Baptist  Church  in  Virginia  to  hold  its  ground  during 
the  last  part  of  the  eighteenth  century,  at  a  time  when  the  Methodists  were  flourish- 
ing,    in  brief,  these  were  that  the  Baptists: 

1.  Abhorred  proselyting,  and  refused  to  employ  education  as  an  auxiliary  to 
denominational  advancement,     incurred  reproach  of  being  enemies  to  education. 

2.  Failed  to  perceive  true  relation  between  religion  and  the  use  of  money  as 
means  of  advancement,  whence 

(a)  any  enterprise  among  Baptists  which  required  the  use  of  money  be- 
yond the  building  of  meeting-houses  or  support  of  the  poor  of  the  Church, 
was  for  many  years  almost  impossible. 

(b)  failure  to  adequately  support  their  pastors. 

3.  Rich  and  aristocratic  converts  boasted  of  sacrifices  they  had  made — sacri- 
fices of  society,  friendships,  and  the  refinements  of  social  life. 

4.  Carelessness  in  defending  the  honor  of  the  Church.     It  was  charged  that,  as 

160 


THE  GROWTH  OF  DENOMINATIONALISM 

The  rapid  growth  and  organization  of  the  denomination,  its  ag- 
gressive policy,  and  its  favor  with  the  common  people  gave  the 
petitions  which  from  1770  began  to  pour  in  upon  the  Colonial 
Assembly  increasing  weight.  In  these  the  special  object  varied, 
but  as  a  whole  the  end  in  view  was  the  same — the  complete  freeing 
of  religion  from  state  control.  While  Regular  and  Separates  did  not 
join  until  1787,  they  made  common  cause  of  their  religious  and 
political  disabilities. 

It  is  to  be  kept  in  mind  that  other  dissenting  bodies,  especially 
Quakers  and  Presbyterians,  took  part  in  this  general  movement. 
The  Presbyterians,  who  by  the  time  of  the  Revolution  had  become 
comparatively  well  established  and  respected,  did  indeed  abide  by 
the  Toleration  Act,  but  they  were  far  from  satisfied  with  the  limita- 
tions of  their  position.  At  the  outbreak  of  the  war  they  stood 
prominently  for  the  cause  of  independence,  seeing  in  the  defeat  of 
the  Mother  Country  not  only  their  political  enfranchisement  but 
the  overthrow  of  the  "persecuting  ecclesiastical  arm  of  the  English 
Government. "1  And  after  the  Revolution,  by  petition  and  protest, 
they  consistently  opposed  all  religious  discriminations.  The  Metho- 
dists undoubtedly  contributed  to  the  spread  of  popular  doctrines, 
but  as  a  Church  they  remained  in  the  Establishment  until  about  a 
year  before  the  passage  of  the  Act  for  Religious  Freedom. 

Complete  separation  of  Church  and  State  was  not  secured  until 
this  Act  was  passed  in  1785.  "At  the  end  of  the  struggle,"  says 
Thom,  "the  Baptists  had  been  largely  instrumental  in  putting 
Virginia  in  the  lead  of  the  civilized  nations  in  the  assertion  of  the 
absolute  freedom  of  religious  faith  from  civil  control.  This  was  a 
great  achievement,  a  thing  new  in  the  history  of  the  world.  And  it 
is  a  record  of  which  any  denomination  and  any  people  may  be  proud, 
this  record  of  the  plain  everyday  people  of  our  land."^ 

a  class,  Baptists  were  disreputably  ignorant;  that  they  refused  to  be  enlightened; 
that  their  ministers  were  generally  rough  fanatics;  that  they  were  penurious  and 
narrow-minded;   that  they  had  no  regard  for  the  moral  training  of  the  children. 

5.  Failure  to  plant  churches  in  cities  as  opposed  to  rural  districts. 

6.  Mistaken  as  to  extent  in  which  unassisted  truth  will  take  care  of  itself. 

7.  Carelessness  in  regard  to  the  qualifications  of  their  ministers.      Refused  to 
demand  any  specified  amount  of  literary  and  scientific  culture. 

8.  Failed  to  supply  people  with  suitable  books  for  their  instruction. 

1  Roosevelt,  Theodore:  The  Winning  of  the  West,  Vol.  11,  p.  113. 

2  Thom,  William  Taylor:  The  Struggle  for  Religious  Freedom  in  Virginia:   The 
Baptists,  pp.  93-94. 

161 


THE  SOUTHERN  HIGHLANDER 

We  have  dwelt  thus  at  length  upon  religious  movements  in 
Virginia  because  of  their  effect  upon  the  mountain  country  as  a 
whole.  It  should,  however,  be  added  that  the  Carolinas,  too, 
were  under  the  Establishment  during  most  of  the  Colonial  Period, 
and  that  some  of  the  features  noted  in  connection  with  the  state 
religion  in  Virginia  as  being  oppressive  to  the  Dissenters  were 
also  operative  here.  It  seems  to  be  true  indeed  that  religious 
grievances  as  well  as  political  had  their  part  in  bringing  about  the 
Battle  of  Alamance.  From  early  times,  however.  Dissenters 
formed  a  strong  and  influential  part  of  the  population  of  these 
colonies,  and  the  Established  Church  was  never  as  strong  here 
as  it  was  in  Virginia.  Moreover,  the  somewhat  unstable  gov- 
ernment of  North  Carolina  exercised,  as  has  been  previously 
observed  in  connection  with  the  Watauga  Association,  little 
authority  over  the  settlers  in  the  western  wilderness.  A  prac- 
tical separation  of  Church  and  State  in  North  Carolina  was 
effected  in  1776,  although  the  final  formal  steps  were  not  taken 
until  1835. 

For  the  great  exodus  of  Baptists  to  the  West  after  the  Rev- 
olution there  are  probably  several  explanations.  They  be- 
longed largely  to  the  plain  people  upon  whom  the  hardships 
of  the  Revolution  had  fallen  with  especial  severity  and  to  whom 
the  possibilities  of  the  new  lands  offered  great  inducements. 
Probably,  too,  some  of  the  many  Baptists  among  the  Revolu- 
tionary soldiers  received  lands  in  the  West  as  war  bounties. 
Moreover,  while  all  religious  distinctions  were  legally  abolished 
in  Virginia  in  1785,  for  some  years  the  Baptists  suffered  much 
prejudice  and  a  certain  social  ostracism,  which  probably  led 
many  to  seek  in  the  freer  air  of  the  frontier  a  refuge  from 
the  exclusiveness  of  other  denominations.  There  is  a  tradition 
that  during  the  time  of  persecution  a  number  escaped  to  Harlan 
County,  Kentucky,  and  it  is  claimed  that  soon  after  1765  there 
were  Baptists  in  east  Tennessee,  who  organized  two  churches 
before  they  were  driven  out  by  the  Indians  in  1774.  No  particu- 
lars, however,  have  been  preserved.  In  1780  a  considerable  num- 
ber of  the  denomination  with  eight  or  ten  ministers  removed 
from  Virginia  and  North  Carolina  to  the  Holston  region  where  by 
1802  there  were  thirty-six  churches  reported,  with  a  membership  of 

162 


THE  GROWTH  OF  DENOMINATIONALISM 

2,500.  Semple*  estimates  that  between  1791  and  1810  fully  one- 
fourth  of  the  Baptists  of  Virginia  emigrated  to  Kentucky.  Accounts 
have  been  passed  down  to  us  of  their  traveling  in  congregations,^ 
their  pastors  holding  services  wherever  the  pause  for  rest  was  long 
enough.  Many  went  with  the  great  trend  of  migration  through  the 
mountains,  but  many  others  turned  aside  into  the  mountain  ridge 
areas  which  were  settled  about  this  time. 

How  rapid,  as  a  result  of  this  great  migration,  was  the  spread  of 
Baptist  doctrines  among  those  not  previously  of  this  faith,  there  is 
no  way  to  determine,  but  conditions  in  the  wilderness  were  pecu- 
liarly favorable  to  their  growth.  Ministers,  as  we  have  seen,  had 
always  been  few  upon  the  frontier.  The  Presbyterians,  notably  dis- 
tinguished even  in  early  times  for  their  efforts  to  supply  pastors  and 
missionaries  to  their  people,  had  been  entirely  unable  to  minister 
adequately  to  their  scattered  and  moving  congregations.  Among 
the  Valley  settlements  they  succeeded  in  maintaining  a  strong  in- 
fluence,3  and  it  was  due  to  them  that  the  first  institutions  of  learn- 
ing in  the  mountains— Liberty  Hall  in  the  Virginia  Valley,  and 
Washington,  Tusculum,  and  Greeneville  Colleges  in  the  Tennessee 
Valley — were  established.'*  Through  much  of  the  mountain  wilder- 
ness, however,  the  children  of  the  Presbyterians  were  obliged  to 
grow  up  without  either  the  offices  of  a  minister  of  their  faith  or  the 
educational  opportunities,  both  religious  and  secular,  so  generally 
dependent  upon  him. 

It  is  probable  that  the  insistence  of  the  Presbyterians  upon  an 

1  Semple,  Robert  B.:  History  of  the  Rise  and  Progress  of  the  Baptists  in  Vir- 
ginia, Richmond,  1810. 

2  Dr.  R.  F.  Campbell,  who  has  made  a  study  of  Presbyterianism  in  North  Caro- 
lina, says  that  "this  was  also  true  of  the  early  Presbyterians,  in  western  North 
Carolina,  who  often  came  in  in  considerable  bodies,  bringing  their  pastor  with 
them." 

3  "There  was  also  a  strong  Lutheran  element  in  the  Valley.  In  1813,  two  Luth- 
eran ministers  organized  13  congregations  consisting  of  1175  members  in  Washing- 
ton County,  Virginia,  in  Tennessee,  and  in  parts  of  the  present  West  Virginia."— 
Bernheim:   History  of  the  German  Settlements,  p.  381. 

<The  following  list  indicates  schools  founded  by  the  Scotch-Irish  Presbyterians 
within  the  mountain  country  or  in  the  regions  bordering  it  to  east  and  west: 

Hampden-Sidnev,  Virginia,  1774,  Rev.  Samuel  Stanhope  Smith,  President. 

Liberty  Hall,  first  in  Mt.  Pleasant,  Spottsylvania  County,  and  later  in  Timber 
Ridge,  Rockbridge  County,  Virginia,  1776.  Changed  in  1796  to  Washington 
Academy,  from  which  developed  Washington  and  Lee  University. 

Liberty  Hall,  near  Charlotte,  North  Carolina,  1768,  founded  by  Joseph  Aiex- 

163 


THE  SOUTHERN  HIGHLANDER 

educated  ministry^  and  the  practice  followed  of  placing  ministers  in 
urban  centers,  had  much  to  do  with  the  decrease  of  Presbyterianism 
in  the  mountains  and  the  growth  of  those  sects  whose  educational 
requirements  for  the  ministry  were  less  exacting.  The  conditions 
of  the  frontier,  too,  giving  emphasis  as  they  did  to  individualism, 
perhaps  led  to  a  sentiment  for  direct  management  in  church  affairs, 
and  in  consequence  the  church  connection  of  the  mountaineer 
passed  from  the  representative  form  of  polity  to  the  more  direct 
democratic  form  of  government. 

It  is  not  hard  to  believe  that  the  early  Baptist  preachers,  filled 
with  a  zeal  which  was  rendered  the  more  intense  by  their  recent 
persecution,  denouncing  privilege,  and  proclaiming  the  power  of 
the  Spirit  to  act  through  the  most  ignorant  and  uneducated,  exer- 
cised an  immediate  and  powerful  influence  on  the  stern  and  un- 
lettered Calvinists  of  the  frontier. 

ander;  later  became  Queen's  College,  and  from  it  developed  the  University  of  North 
Carolina. 

Alamance,  Guilford  County,  North  Carolina,  1761.  School  founded  by  Rev. 
David  Caldwell. 

Martin  Academy,  Washington  County,  Tennessee,  1788.  Rev.  Samuel  W. 
Doak,  founder;   later  became  Washington  College. 

Union  Academy,  near  Knoxville,  Tennessee,  1802,  founded  by  Dr.  Isaac  Ander- 
son;  later  became  Maryvilie  College. 

Tusculum  College,  Bethel,  Tennessee,  1818,  Rev.  W.  Samuel  Doak,  founder. 

Greeneviile  College,  Tennessee,  1794,  Rev.  Hezekiah  Balch,  Founder. 

In  1868  Greeneviile  and  Tusculum  were  united,  but  kept  the  two  names  until 
1912,  when  the  name  was  changed  to  Tusculum  College. 

Transylvania  University,  Danville,  Kentucky,  1783,  founded  by  Rev.  David 
Rice;   moved  to  Lexington,  1788. 

Kentucky  Academy,  Pisgah,  Kentucky,  1794;  amalgamated  in  1798  with  the 
institution  at  Lexington  as  Transylvania  University. 

Blount  College,  Knoxville,  Tennessee,  1794,  founded  by  Rev.  Samuel  Garrick; 
later  became  the  University  of  Tennessee. 

Center  College,  Danville,  Kentucky,  1824. 

1  "In  Ulster  it  was  the  regular  thing  for  a  candidate  for  the  ministry  to  go  to 
Scotland  to  get  a  classical  education  as  the  foundation  of  his  theological  studies. 
This  insistence  upon  scholarship  as  a  ministerial  qualification  was  sharpened  by 
sectarian  tendencies  in  favor  of  substituting  zeal  for  knowledge,  and  private  in- 
spiration for  historical  evidence. 

"An  educated  ministry  accompanied  the  Scotch-Irish  settlements  in  America. 
It  was  a  comparatively  brief  and  easy  matter  for  a  student  to  go  and  come  between 
Ulster  and  Scotland,  by  the  short  sea-ferry;  but  if  there  was  to  be  in  America  a 
native  born  educated  ministry,  institutions  of  learning  had  to  be  set  up.  Log 
College,  established  by  Tennent  in  Bucks  County,  Pennsylvania,  in  1728,  was  one 
of  a  number  of  institutions  which  were  progenitors  of  Princeton  and  various  others." 
— Ford,  Henry  Jones:  The  Scotch-Irish  in  America,  pp.  415,  416.  New  Jersey, 
The  Princeton  University  Press,  191 5. 

164 


Augusta  Church,  Fort  DefiariLf,  \irginia.      I'>uilt  in   1740  fPrcshyterian) 


Timber  Ridge  Church,  Timber  Ridge,  Virginia.   Main  body  built  in  1  js;  (, Presbyterian) 


Mountain  Church  and  School  House 


Old  School  House,  also  used  as  Church  House 


THE  GROWTH  OF  DENOMINATIONALISM 

"  By  the  time  Kentucky  was  settled,"  writes  Roosevelt,  "the 
Baptists  had  begun  to  make  headway  on  the  frontier,  at  the  ex- 
pense of  the  Presbyterians.  The  rough  democracy  of  the  border 
welcomed  a  sect  which  was  itself  essentially  democratic.  To 
many  of  the  backwoodsmen's  prejudices, — notably  their  sullen 
and  narrow  hostility  towards  all  rank,  whether  or  not  based  on 
merit  and  learning,  the  Baptists'  creed  appealed  strongly.  Where 
their  preachers  obtained  a  foothold,  it  was  made  a  matter  of  re- 
proach to  the  Presbyterian  clergymen  that  they  had  been  edu- 
cated in  early  life  for  the  ministry  as  for  a  profession.  The  love  of 
liberty,  and  the  defiant  assertion  of  equality,  so  universal  in  the 
backwoods,  and  so  excellent  in  themselves,  sometimes  took  very 
warped  and  twisted  forms,  notably  when  they  betrayed  the  back- 
woodsmen into  the  belief  that  the  true  democratic  spirit  forbade 
any  exclusive  and  special  training  for  the  professions  that  pro- 
duce soldiers,  statesmen,  or  ministers."^ 

Newman  writes:  "The  early  Baptists  of  Kentucky  were  as  a 
rule  thoroughly  imbued  with  prejudice  against  educated  and 
salaried  ministers.  The  experience  of  early  Virginia  Baptists  in 
being  taxed  for  the  support  of  irreligious  and  vicious  clergymen, 
whose  only  recommendation  was  that  they  had  received  a  uni- 
versity education,  led  them  to  look  with  suspicion  upon  the 
highly  educated,  and  to  prefer  a  ministry  from  the  ranks  of  the 
people  earning  a  support  by  following  secular  pursuits.  These 
sentiments  became  intensified  in  Kentucky,  where  for  a  long  time 
educational  facilities  were  almost  wanting."^ 

The  great  revival  at  the  beginning  of  the  nineteenth  century, 
which  stirred  Presbyterians,  Methodists,  and  Baptists  alike,  also 
greatly  increased  the  Baptist  membership.  In  Kentucky  it  is  said 
to  have  been  doubled.  It  is  interesting,  too,  to  learn  that  while  the 
growth  of  Arminian  views  was  greatly  increased  by  this  revival,  in 
the  South  the  trend  was  back  to  extreme  Calvinistic  doctrines — 
doctrines  which,  as  we  shall  see,  still  persist  strongly  in  many  South- 
ern mountain  areas. 

The  rapid  growth  of  the  Methodists  in  the  mountains  did  not 
begin  until  after  the  Revolution.^    There  were  Methodists  in  south- 

1  Roosevelt,  Theodore:  The  Winning  of  the  West,  Vol.  11,  pp.  1 13-1 14. 

^Newman,  A.  H.:  History  of  the  Baptist  Churches  in  the  United  States,  pp. 
303-305.     New  York,  The  Christian  Literature  Co.,  1894. 

'At  the  time  .'Xsbury  came  to  America,  in  1771,  there  were  only  about  600 
Methodist  laymen  and  10  Methodist  preachers  in  the  colonies,  while  the  first  Metho- 
dist preachers  did  not  come  into  X'irginia  and  North  Carolina  until  1772.  in  1773 
the  numbers  of  the  Society  were  computed  as  follows:   New  York  iSo,  Philadelphia 

165 


THE  SOUTHERN  HIGHLANDER 

western  Virginia  in  1773  or  1774,  and  possibly  a  church  was  or- 
ganized at  that  time  in  Pulaski  County.  By  1 776  there  were  many 
in  Piedmont  North  Carolina,  and  seven  years  later  it  is  estimated 
that  there  were  in  the  Holston  region  about  "sixty  sheep  scattered 
over  a  large  section  of  wilderness  country."  Even  in  1 787,  through 
part  of  the  Holston  settlements,  meetings  were  held  "all  in  private 
dwelling  houses,  none  in  churches  or  schoolhouses,  and  there  were 
no  stewards,  no  leaders,  no  exhorters,  and  only  one  local  preacher." 
In  1803  the  Holston  District,  which  included  the  circuits  of  Hols- 
ton, Nolichucky,  French  Broad,  New  River,  Clinch,  and  Powell's 
Valley,  contained  2,933  Methodists,  of  whom  205  were  colored. 

The  circuit  system,  established  early  in  America  by  Bishop  As- 
bury,  gave  great  impetus  to  the  movement,  which  the  visits  of 
Asbury  himself  confirmed. 

"Elected  a  general  superintendent  in  1784,"  writes  Tipple, 
"for  30  years  and  more  he  traveled  annually  the  largest  Episco- 
pal See  any  Bishop  of  any  church  in  America  ever  had  under  his 
continuous  and,  for  most  of  the  time,  sole  jurisdiction." 

"  He  was  the  great  itinerant  of  early  Methodism.  From  Maine 
to  Georgia,  to  Kentucky  and  Ohio,  and  back  to  New  York  again, 
year  after  year  he  swung  around  his  immense  circuit,  a  man 
without  a  home.  Once  when  entering  the  prairies  of  Ohio  a 
stranger  met  him  and  abruptly  inquired,  'Where  are  you  from?' 
Asbury  replied,  'From  Boston,  New  York,  Philadelphia,  Balti- 
more, or  almost  any  place  you  please.'    This  was  literally  true."^ 

In  1 78 1  we  see  him  on  the  South  Branch  of  the  Potomac,  where 
he  found  many  "prayerless"  and  "wicked  whiskey  drinkers."  In 
the  Dutch  settlement  on  Patterson's  Creek  the  people  loved  his 
preaching  and  he  reciprocated  their  affection,  for  he  writes:  "I 
love  these  people;  they  are  kind  in  their  way."  From  1800  to  181 3 
he  made  annual  visits,  usually  in  the  autumn,  throughout  the  east- 
ern part  of  the  United  States  and  as  far  west^  as  Tennessee  and 

180,  New  Jersey  200,  Maryland  500,  and  Virginia  100,  or  in  all,  a  total  of  1 160. 
— Price,  R.  N.:  Holston  Methodism;  from  its  Origin  to  the  Present  Time,  Vol.  1, 
p.  8.     Nashville,  Tenn.,  Smith  &  Lamar,  1904. 

1  Introduction  to  the  Heart  of  Asbury's  Journal,  p.  9.  Edited  by  Ezra  Squier 
Tipple,  New  York,  Eaton  and  Mains,  1904. 

'^  Evidently  his  work  was  done  with  the  cordial  sympathy  of  the  Presbyterian 
minister  on  French  Broad,  North  Carolina,  for  in  1800  he  mentions  that  "we  had 
about  80  hearers;  among  them  was  Mr.  Newton,  a  Presbyterian  minister,  who  made 
the  concluding  prayer";   and  again  in  1807,  Sabbath  18,  "  1  spent  a  night  under  the 

166 


THE  GROWTH  OF  DENOMINATIONALISM 

Kentucky — regions  served  very  poorly  by  ministers  of  any  denomi- 
nation. The  roughness  of  the  country  and  the  innumerable  hard- 
ships of  travel  are  vividly  set  forth  in  his  journal.  "What  a  road 
have  we  passed/'  he  says,  after  crossing  the  Wilderness  Road  on 
October  14,  1803;  "certainly  the  worst  on  the  continent,  even  in 
the  best  weather,"  and  on  October  28,  1803,  he  exclaims  with  a 
somewhat  unmissionary  fervor,  "Once  more  have  I  escaped  from 
filth,  fleas,  rattlesnakes,  hills,  mountains,  rocks,  and  rivers.  Fare- 
well, Western  world,  for  a  while!"  Of  the  people  themselves  he 
speaks  with  appreciation,  that  he  has  been  "well  and  generously 
entertained,"  that  they  are  "kind  and  loving."  "We  lodged  with 
James  Patton;  how  rich,  how  plain,  how  humble,  and  how  kind!" 
At  other  times,  however,  he  criticizes  severely  their  way  of  living, 
especially  the  making  and  drinking  of  whiskey;  "there  were  too 
many  subjects  of  the  two  great  potentates  of  this  western  world — 
whiskey,  brandy — my  mind  was  greatly  distressed" ;  and  yet  again, 
"  I  am  of  opinion  it  is  as  hard,  or  harder,  for  the  people  of  the 
west  to  gain  religion  as  any  other.  When  1  consider  where  they 
came  from,  where  they  are,  and  how  they  are,  and  how  they  are 
called  to  go  farther,  their  being  unsettled,  with  so  many  objects  to 
take  their  attention,  with  the  health  and  good  air  they  enjoy,  and 
when  1  reflect  that  not  one  in  a  hundred  came  here  to  get  religion, 
but  rather  to  get  plenty  of  good  land.  1  think  it  will  be  well  if  some 
or  many  do  not  eventually  lose  their  souls." 

Doubtless  the  long  weary  miles  and  the  hard  conditions  of  travel 
in  general,  lent  to  that  day's  writmg  a  somewhat  pessimistic  note, 
yet  there  was  much  in  the  pioneer's  way  of  life  to  discourage  the 
missionary.  Numerous  are  the  accounts  that  have  come  down  to  us 
of  the  rudeness  of  the  frontier — the  drinking,  brawling,  and  fight- 
ing. Cuming,  who  made  a  trip  through  the  West  in  1809,  makes 
this  rather  sweeping  generalization:  "  It  may  not  be  improper  to 
mention  that  the  backwoodsmen  are  very  similar  in  their  habits 
and  manners  to  the  aborigines,  only  perhaps  more  prodigal  and 

roof  of  my  very  dear  brother  in  Christ,  George  Newton,  a  Presbyterian  minister, 
an  Israelite  indeed."  Dec.  2,  18 10.  "We  dined  with  Mr.  Newton.  He  is  almost 
a  Methodist." 

Oct.  2,  1802,  in  southwest  Virginia,  he  says:  "I  applied  to  Mr.  William  Hodge 
and  to  Mr.  William  McGee,  Presbyterian  ministers,  to  supply  my  lack  of  public 
service,  which  they  did  with  great  fervency  and  fidelity."     Ibid. 

167 


THE  SOUTHERN  HIGHLANDER 

more  careless  of  life.  .  .  .  They  have  frequent  meetings  for 
the  purpose  of  gambling,  fighting,  and  drinking.  They  make  bets 
to  the  amount  of  all  they  possess.  They  fight  for  the  most  trifling 
provocation,  or  even  sometimes  without  any,  but  merely  to  try 
each  other's  prowess,  which  they  are  fond  of  vaunting  of."^ 

Historians,  however,  while  recognizing  the  flagrant  evils,  very 
generally  bear  witness  to  the  sturdy  blood  which  dominated  this 
early  frontier.  If  the  first  mountain  settlers  were  "relentless,  re- 
vengeful, and  suspicious,"  they  were  also  on  the  whole  "upright, 
resolute,  and  fearless,  loyal  to  their  friends,  and  devoted  to  their 
country." 

In  any  estimate  of  their  characteristics,  the  standards  of  the 
frontier  must  be  taken  into  account.  Speaking  of  Williami  Camp- 
bell, one  of  the  leaders  of  the  Holston  Settlements,  Roosevelt  says: 

He  was  a  true  t\'pe  of  the  Roundheads  of  the  frontier,  the 
earnest,  eager  men  who  pushed  the  border  ever  farther  westward 
across  the  continent.  He  followed  Indians  and  tories  with  relent- 
less and  undying  hatred;  for  the  long  list  of  backwoods  virtues 
did  not  include  pity  for  either  public  or  private  foes.  *  *  * 
He  hunted  them  down  with  a  furious  zest,  and  did  his  work  with 
merciless  thoroughness,  firm  in  the  belief  that  he  thus  best  served 
the  Lord  and  the  nation.^ 

It  must  be  remembered,  too,  that  men  from  the  Watauga  Settle- 
ment, notable  in  its  early  days  for  law  and  order,  and  which  sent  out 
its  soldiers  to  King's  Mountain  under  the  minister's  exhortation 
to  "fight  with  the  sword  of  the  Lord  and  of  Gideon,"  were  sharers 
in  outrages  and  cruelties  which  blotted  that  fair  victory  and  the 
succeeding  days. 

It  is  in  the  light  of  such  conditions  and  those  growing  out  of 
them  that  we  must  view  that  part  of  the  great  revival  to  which  ref- 
erence has  been  made,  which,  beginning  in  east  Tennessee,  extended 
over  Virginia,  especially  the  western  part,  and  over  Kentucky  dur- 
ing the  early  years  of  the  nineteenth  century;  through  it  all  the 
mountain  churches  increased  their  membership,  but  dating  from  it 

1  Cuming,  Fortesque:  "Sketches  of  a  Tour  to  the  Western  Country,  through  the 
states  of  Ohio  and  Kentucky;  a  Voyage  down  the  Ohio  and  .Mississippi  Rivers,  and 
a  Trip  through  the  Mississippi  Territory  and  part  of  West  Florida,  commenced  at 
Philadelphia  in  the  winter  of  1807,  and  concluded  in  1809,"  Vol.  IV  in  Thwaites' 
Early  Western  Travels,  p.  137.     Cleveland,  Ohio,  Arthur  H.  Clark,  1904. 

*  Roosevelt,  Theodore:  The  Winning  of  the  West,  Vol.  Ill,  p.  106. 

168 


THE  GROWTH  OF  DENOMINATIONALISM 

the  growth  of  the  Methodist  and  Baptist  Churches  especially  was 
very  rapid,  until  now  they  have  outstripped  the  original  Church  of 
the  mountains  in  almost  all  areas. 

Table  7  shows,  on  the  basis  of  information  obtained  in  advance 
from  the  1916  religious  census,'  the  relative  standing  of  the  denomi- 
nations now  represented  in  the  Highlands  as  compared  with  their 
standing  in  1906.-  It  is  perhaps  unnecessary  to  emphasize  the  diffi- 
culties in  the  way  of  obtaining  exact  religious  data  in  remote  moun- 
tain regions  where  the  method  generally  followed  in  securing  such 
statistics  is,  because  of  the  roughness  of  the  country,  the  slowness  of 
travel,  and  the  lack  of  organization  in  many  of  the  churches, 
peculiarly  inadequate.  The  absence  of  census  data  in  1906  for 
Moravians  and  Latter  Day  Saints  is  probably  due  to  these  causes, 
and  undoubtedly  the  figures  as  presented  do  not  truly  represent  the 
strength  of  the  sects  which  are  most  numerous  in  the  less  accessible 
regions.  With  such  limitations  in  mind,  however,  one  may  gain 
from  the  figures  a  general  idea  of  the  church  affiliations  of  the  High- 
land people. 

Of  the  entire  number  of  people  in  the  Highlands,  1,948,779,  or  a 
little  over  one-third,  were  recorded  as  church  members  in  1916,  and 
of  this  one-third,  90  per  cent  were  Protestants.  The  remainder  were 
included  largely  in  the  Roman  Catholic  Church  which,  with  other 
non-Protestant  bodies,  is  found  almost  exclusively  in  industrial  and 
urban  centers.  It  may  be  stated  almost  without  qualification  that 
the  rural  Highlander  is  a  Protestant. 

No  other  denomination  approaches  in  numbers  either  Methodists 
or  Baptists,  although  in  certain  state  areas  other  sects  show  con- 
siderable strength.    The  relative  strength  in  the  different  areas  in 

'  These  data  were  obtained  through  the  courtesy  of  the  Director  of  the  Bureau 
of  the  Census.  The  method  of  enumeration  as  described  by  him  indicates  some  of 
the  obstacles  encountered.  The  statistics  for  churches  were  collected  mainly  by 
correspondence  with  the  local  church  organizations.  Lists  of  organizations  were 
obtained  from  year-books,  etc.,  of  denominations  or  from  denominational  officials, 
home  missionary  superintendents,  etc.  In  many  instances  it  was  impossible  to  get 
any  returns  from  individual  church  organizations.  In  the  case  of  some  loosely 
organized  denominations,  special  agents  were  appointed  whose  official  position  or 
personal  familiarity  with  conditions  enabled  them  to  supplement  correspondence 
or  to  conduct  the  entire  work  of  collecting  statistics.  In  one  such  instance  one 
special  agent  covering  the  entire  mountain  region  and  also  New  England,  Louisiana, 
and  Texas,  reported  many  difficulties  owing  to  lack  of  co-operation  on  the  part  of 
the  Church,  and  the  slow  and  uncertain  means  of  travel  and  communication. 

^  U.  S.  Census:   Religious  Bodies,  1906,  Washington,  Government,  1910. 

169 


THE  SOUTHERN  HIGHLANDER 


TABLE  7. — MEMBERSHIP    OF    RELIGIOUS    BODIES    IN    THE    SOUTHERN 
HIGHLANDS.       I906  AND   I916 


1906 

1916 

Baptist 

Southern  Baptist  Convention 

^         r 

493.637 

National  Baptist  Convention  (colored) 

>  567.60 1<^ 

177,258 

Northern  Baptist  Convention 

J         I 

62,451 

Primitive  Baptist 

22,256 

20,671 

United  Baptist 

9.393 

16,750 

Free-Wiil  Baptist 

2,649 

4,180 

Duck  River  Baptist 

4,096 

3.929 

Primitive  Baptist  (colored) 

5,200 

708 

Free  Baptist 

2,693 

414 

Total  Baptist 

613,888 

779,998 

Methodist 

Methodist  Episcopal  South 

255.813 

334.976 

Methodist  Episcopal 

147,676 

188,756 

Methodist  Protestant 

23.458 

25,701 

Congregational  Methodist 

2,508 

1.939 

Methodist  bodies  (colored) 

42,880 

58,165 

Total  Methodist 

472,335 

609,537 

Presbyterian 

Presbyterian  Church  in  United  States 

51.127 

68,408 

Presbyterian  Church  in  United  States  of  America 

19,654 

32,876 

Cumberland  Presbyterian 

17.742 

9,802 

Cumberland  Presbyterian  (colored) 

2,778 

2,651 

United  Presbyterian 

1,026 

1.776 

Total  Presbyterian 

92,327 

115,513 

Disciples  of  Christ 

68,087 

81,577 

United  Brethren  in  Christ 

32,164 

42,287 

Lutheran 

General  Synod 

14,705 

18,793 

United  Synod  in  the  South 

13.747 

16,003 

Synodical  Conference 

587 

2,283 

Joint  Synod  of  Ohio 

1,540 

2,147 

General  Council 

1, 176 

1,347 

Total  Lutheran 

31.755 

40,573 

Churches  of  Christ 

13,053 

33,356 

Protestant  Episcopal 

21,267 

28,445 

Dunkers 

Conservative 

14.303 

21,008 

Progressive 

1,921 

3,032 

Total  Dunkers 

16,224 

24,040 

Reformed  Church  in  United  States 

8,648 

11.134 

170 


TABLE  7.- 


THE  GROWTH  OF  DENOMINATIONALISM 
-MEMBERSHIP    OF    RELIGIOUS    BODIES    IN    THE    SOUTHERN 

HIGHLANDS.      1906  AND   1916 — (Continued) 


1906 

1916 

Latter-Day  Saints 
Latter-Day  Saints 
Latter-Day  Saints  Reorganized 

4,9 '4 
974 

Total  Latter-Day  Saints 

5,888 

Advent  Christian 

Congregational 

Churches  of  God  in  North  America 

Friends  (Orthodox) 

German  Evangelical  Synod  of  North  America 

United  Evangelical 

Moravian 

Christian  (Christian  connection) 

Non-sectarian  Churches  of  Bible  Faith 

1.476 
3.498 
705 
869 
120 
54  > 

3.655 
1,316 

4.389 
4,270 
2,122 

1.97' 
','87 

853 
717 

682 
399 

Total  Protestant  bodies  listed 

1,381,928 

1,788,938 

Roman  Catholic 
Greek  Orthodox 
Jewish 

83,596 

955 
1,032 

107,212 
1,700 
3,'05 

All  other  bodies* 

34.177 

47,824 

Grand  total 

1,501,688 

1,948,779 

a  Of  the  34, 177  listed  under  all  other  bodies  in  1906,  32,365  were  Protestant  and 
1,812  non-Protestant.  Separate  figures  were  not  available  for  1916  when  the  table 
was  constructed. 


1 916  for  the  nine  most  important  Protestant  denominations  and 
for  Catholics  is  shown  in  Table  26  of  Appendix  E.  in  general  it 
may  be  said  that  the  Presbyterians,  Lutherans,  Episcopalians, 
and  the  Dunkers  show  their  greatest  numbers  in  the  Valley, 
although  they  are  all  exceeded  here  by  the  Baptists  and  Methodists. 
In  the  Allegheny-Cumberland  Belt  the  Methodists,  Disciples  of 
Christ,  and  United  Brethren  are  strongest — the  Methodists  here 
even  exceeding  the  Baptists. 

The  Baptists  show  their  largest  numbers  in  the  Blue  Ridge  Belt; 
but  so  numerous  are  they  in  the  Valley  that  the\' outnumber  both  the 
Methodists  and  all  other  denominations  combined.    They  also  pre- 
dominate in  the  Allegheny-Cumberland  Belt  in  eastern  Tennessee, 
'3  171 


THE  SOUTHERN  HIGHLANDER 

eastern  Kentucky,  and  Alabama.  In  addition  to  the  impractica- 
bility of  enumerating  all  of  this  denomination  in  remote  areas,  it  is 
probable  that  large  numbers  not  listed  as  church  members  are  sym- 
pathetically at  least  affiliated  with  this  Church. 

The  relative  proportion  borne  by  Baptists,  Methodists,  Presby- 
terians, and  all  other  religious  bodies  to  the  entire  number  of 
church  members  listed  in  the  mountain  regions  of  the  several  states 
is  shown  in  Table  8. 

TABLE  8. — PERCENTAGE    OF    TOTAL    CHURCH    MEMBERSHIP    IN    THE 
SOUTHERN  HIGHLANDS  FOR  THE  THREE  LEADING  PROTESTANT 

DENOMINATIONS.      I916 


State 

Baptists 

Metho- 
dists 

Presby- 
terians 

All  other 

religious 

bodies 

Alabama 
Georgia 
Kentucky 
Maryland 
North  Carolina 
South  Carolina 
Tennessee 
Virginia 
West  Virginia 

48.5 
65.2 
48.0 
2.9 
58.1 
64.2 
45.2 
30.7 
20.0 

34-7 

2Q.  I 
16.8 
19.8 
29.8 
24.4 
31.0 

35> 
36.5 

4.8 

2.5 
3.6 

31 
4.0 
6.2 
8.6 

7-9 
6.7 

12.0 

3-2 

31.6 

74.2 

8.1 

5-2 

15.2 
26.3 
36.8 

Total  mountain  region 

40.0 

31.2 

6.0 

22.8 

On  the  basis,  therefore,  of  numbers,  the  Methodist  and  Baptist 
may  be  called  the  dominant  Churches  of  the  mountains.  This  state- 
ment is  intended,  of  course,  to  apply  to  these  two  denominations 
considered  in  their  entirety.  Their  several  divisions  vary  greatly 
in  strength  in  different  areas.  Of  the  various  divisions  of  the  Metho- 
dist Church,  that  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  South  is  by 
far  the  largest,  considering  the  mountains  as  a  whole,  although  the 
northern  branch  of  the  Church  is  stronger  in  Maryland  and  West 
Virginia.  Some  reference  should  be  made  to  the  Holiness  sect, 
known  sometimes  as  the  Holiness  Methodist  Church,  but  not  affili- 
ated with  the  Methodist  denomination.  While  not  listed,  probably 
because  of  its  lack  of  organization,  this  Church  through  its  super- 
emotionalism  makes  from  time  to  time  a  strong  appeal  in  different 
parts  of  the  mountains. 

172 


THE  GROWTH  OF  DENOMINATIONALISM 


The  largest  number  of  Baptists  now  in  the  mountains  are  what 
are  known  sometimes  as  Missionary  or  Regular  Baptists,  but  more 
generally  as  Baptists  without  descriptive  adjective.  They  are  repre- 
sented by  the  Northern/  Southern,  and  National  (colored)  Con- 
ventions, distinguished  on  the  basis  of  locality  and  race  rather  than 
of  doctrine.  So  great,  however,  are  the  number  and  variety  of  the 
divisions  of  this  Church  in  the  more  remote  areas,  that  one  is  re- 
minded of  Hawks'  description  quoted  earlier  in  this  chapter,  of  the 
differences  in  doctrine  among  the  early  Baptists.  Nowhere  is  the 
individualism  of  the  Highlander  more  in  evidence.  For  example, 
while  the  census  classes  under  the  head  of  Primitive-  Baptists  the 
Old  School,  Regular,  Anti-Mission,  and  Hardshell  Baptists,  and 
describes  their  doctrine  as  strongly  Calvinistic,  yet  in  the  High- 

iJhe  Northern  Convention  is  practically  confined  to  West  Virginia;  62,249  of 
the  62,431  listed  in  Table  7  are  in  this  state. 

2  "The  Primitive  Baptists  arose  in  1836  in  opposition  to  the  various  organiza- 
tions for  Christian  work,  by  which  as  they  felt,  the  Church  was  vacating  its  own 
duties  and  privileges." — U.  S.  Census:   Religious  Bodies,  p.  44.    1906. 

"The  Warwick  Association  of  New  York  issued  a  circular  letter  in  1849  which 
shows  that  a  warm  controversy  was  then  in  progress.  This  letter,  which  was  writ- 
ten in  behalf  of  the  'new  Ideas'  charged  the  Primitive  Brethren  with  holding  hyper- 
Calvinistic  doctrines,  and  insisted  that  their  predestinarianism  was  such  as  prac- 
tically to  deny  any  responsibility  in  man  for  his  conduct  or  condition.  It  attributed 
to  them  statements  to  the  effect  that  God  carries  on  His  work  'without  the  least 
instrumentality  whatever,'  and  that  'all  the  preaching  from  John  the  Baptist  until 
now,  if  made  to  bear  on  one  unregenerate  sinner'  could  not  'quicken  his  poor  dead 
soul.'  The  Primitive  Baptists  do  not  oppose  the  preaching  of  the  gospel,  but  be- 
lieve that  God  will  convert  the  world  in  his  own  way,  and  own  good  time,  without 
the  aid  of  missionary  societies."— Carroll,  H.  K.:  Religious  Forces  in  the  United 
States,  Enumerated,  Classified,  and  Described,  p.  12.  New  York,  Charles  Scrib- 
ner's  Sons,  1912. 

A  relic  of  this  controversy  is  reflected  in  one  of  the  old  hymns: 
There  is  a  reprobated  plan;  But  we  do  say  God's  holy  word 

Come  how  did  it  arise?  Doth  no  such  doctrine  teach. 

By  the  predestinated  clan  For  if  it  do,  then  why  do  you 

Of  horrid  cruelties.  Attempt  his  word  to  preach? 


The  plan  is  this — they  hold  a  few 

Who  are  ordained  for  heaven; 
They  hold  the  rest  a  cursed  crew, 

That  cannot  be  forgiven. 

They  do  believe  God  has  decreed 

Whatsoever  comes  to  pass. 
Some  to  be  damned — some  to  be  freed — 

.And  this  they  call  free  grace! 

— The  Sweet  Songster,  No.  212,  p.  240. 
Catlettsburg,  Ky.,  C.  L.  McConnell,  1854. 

"73 


For  if  God  has  foreordained 
.Ml  things  to  be  just  so. 

Then  do  we  say,  all  cease  to  pray. 
And  to  a-fishing  go! 

But  my  friends  all,  on  you  1  call. 
To  mind  this  doctrine  well; 

It  has  its  birth,  not  on  this  earth. 
But  in  the  pit  of  hell! 

Edited  by  Edward  W.  Billups,  D.D.. 


THE  SOUTHERN  HIGHLANDER 

lands  some  of  the  Old  Regulars  believe  in  Free  Will,  although  they 
are  not  Free  Will  Baptists,  and  attribute  the  doctrine  of  predesti- 
nation to  the  Hardshells.  Some  of  the  Hardshells  are  more  liberal 
in  giving  and  in  communion  than  some  of  the  Old  Missionary  Bap- 
tists, who  are  Anti-Mission  in  practice.  Some  of  the  Primitives 
deny  that  they  oppose  Sunday  schools  and  education,  while  others 
preach  openly  against  them;  numbers  believe  in  the  practice  of 
washing  the  saints'  feet  in  church  and  are  known  as  "  Foot-washing 
Baptists,"  while  other  Primitives  do  not  practice  this  rite. 

An  idea  of  the  strength  of  these  various  divisions  is  but  inade- 
quately gained  from  the  census  returns,  for  in  addition  to  the  fact 
that  many  scattered  congregations  are  situated  in  parts  of  the 
mountains  most  difficult  of  access  to  the  enumerator,  churches  are 
often  without  organization  or  records  of  any  kind. 

if,  indeed,  we  have  regard  to  the  remote  rural  areas  of  the  moun- 
tains, as  well  as  to  those  that  are  more  accessible  and  to  all  the 
various  sects  which  are  designated  as  Baptist,  as  well  as  to  the 
Baptist  Church  in  the  usual  acceptation  of  the  term,  it  must  be 
said  that  the  Baptist  Church  is  the  predominant  or,  if  the  term  be 
allowed,  the  "native"  church  of  the  Highlands.  This  is  the  more 
true  in  that  certain  other  denominations  found  in  the  mountains, 
though  not  affiliated  with  the  Baptist  Church  are  essentially  Bap- 
tists in  practice,  and  differ  no  more  in  belief  from  some  of  the 
branches  of  this  denomination  than  these  branches  differ  one  from 
another.  Among  them  may  be  mentioned  the  Disciples  of  Christ, 
Brethren,  Dunkers,  and  Churches  of  Christ. 

Should  one  be  permitted  to  coin  a  term,  "  Immersion  Church" 
would  express  more  nearly  the  idea  we  have  sought  to  convey  by 
the  statement  that  the  Baptist  Church  is  now  the  native  Church  of 
the  mountains.  So  generally  are  the  mountaineers  immersionists 
that  the  wisest  ministers  in  churches  that  practice  another  mode  of 
baptism  use  this  method  if  the  prospective  communicants  desire  it. 
It  must  be  remembered,  however,  that  in  any  general  statement 
made  later  as  to  the  native  Church  of  the  mountains,  the  term  will 
apply  not  only  to  the  "  Immersion  Church"  but  to  any  churches 
which  have  been  long  established  locally  and  which  in  a  limited  way 
may  also  be  called  "native." 

Keeping  in  mind,  then,  the  somewhat  arbitrary  distinction  be- 

174 


THE  GROWTH  OF  DENOMINATIONALISM 

tween  native  and  foreign  churches  and  ministers,  and  remembering 
always  that  there  are  urban  and  rural  sections  of  the  mountains 
well  served  by  their  churches,  we  may  proceed  to  a  discussion,  in- 
adequate though  it  may  be,  of  the  religious  life  of  the  rural  moun- 
tains today. 


175 


CHAPTER  IX 

THE   RELIGIOUS   LIFE  OF  THE    RURAL 

HIGHLANDS 

N  NO  part  of  our  country  will  one  find  a  more  deep  and  sincere 
interest  in  matters  of  religion  than  in  the  Southern  Highlands. 
The  "infidel"  is  so  rare  that  the  term  is  almost  anathema. 
Even  he  who  is  confessedly  "wicked"  believes  in  the  Deity,  and 
has  a  rather  definite  theory  of  life  and  of  the  course  necessary  for 
salvation — a  state  to  which  he  intends  in  a  general  way  to  attain 
some  day.  The  fact  that  as  one  of  the  old  hymns^  suggests,  he  may 
put  off  the  day,  though  conscious  of  his  evil  state,  cannot  be  con- 
sidered an  evidence  of  his  peculiarity. 


te 


^ 


-25^- 


fj 


Come  think  on  death  and    judg-ment,  Your  time  is       al-most  spent— 


m      i»- 


-^ 


-?:)' 


You've  been   an      aw-   ful        sin  -  ner,      'Tis  time   that   you    re -pent. 


^- 


■9 — -r 


-r 


r-"  V  *- 


± 


o      im- 


1  know  I've  been  a     sin  -  ner,     And    wick-ed  all    my  days.     But 


^ 


?=»^ 


:it^- 


--rr 


when    I'm     old  and 


fee  -    ble,     I'll     think    u  -  pon    my    ways. 


1  With  one  exception  the  words  of  the  hymns  quoted  in  this  chapter  may  be  found 
in  The  Sweet  Songster,  a  collection  of  the  most  popular  and  approved  songs, 
hymns,  and  ballads.     Ibid. 

176 


THE  RELIGIOUS  LIFE  OF  THE  RURAL  HIGHLANDS 

In  the  meantime  he  is  well-disposed  toward  church,  which  he 
attends  regularly  or  as  regularly  as  is  possible,  for  preaching  in 
many  rural  sections  still  is  held  but  once  or  twice  a  month.  He 
does  this  not  only  because  the  occasion  is  one  of  the  few  when  he 
may  meet  his  friends  but  to  listen  to  the  sermon,  in  the  analysis 
of  which  he  is  an  expert.  Were  theological  students  privileged  to 
hear  the  criticism  of  sermons  at  the  mill  on  "grinding  day"  fol- 
lowing "the  last  preaching,"  many  valuable  suggestions  would  be 
received. 

The  "foreign"  preacher  who  looks  down  on  his  right  into  the 
attentive  faces  of  the  men,  and  on  his  left  to  the  women,  motion- 
less save  as  a  mother  tries  to  still  the  restless  baby  in  her  arms,  little 
knows  the  critical  faculty  that  is  being  focussed  upon  his  discourse. 
It  is  well  for  him  if  he  has  refrained  from  expounding  doctrine  and 
has  preached  frankly  and  freely  against  open  sin.  The  High- 
lander's heart  holds  no  resentment  against  the  outsider  who  tells 
him  to  his  face  of  his  shortcomings;  but  woe  betide  the  foreigner 
who  talks  of  his  failings  behind  his  back,  or  who  endeavors  to  enter 
with  him  into  the  intricacies  of  theology.  He  who  attempts  the 
former  may  follow  in  the  steps  of  those  who  have  been  invited  to 
leave  their  fields  hastily  and  without  ceremony;  while  those  who 
pursue  the  latter  course  will  find  their  adversary  no  mean  opponent 
in  the  splitting  of  doctrinal  hairs.  The  true  Highlander,  indeed, 
like  his  Calvinistic  ancestors,  delights  in  theological  debate;  and 
assent  to  doctrine  being,  theoretically  at  least,  the  way  to  salvation. 
he  finds  an  unfailing  interest  in  the  discussion  of  foreordination 
and  election,  free-will  and  immersion,  and  kindred  topics.  The 
essential  thing  for  the  individual  is  to  believe,  the  complement  of 
right  belief — ethical  dealings  with  one's  neighbors — being  too 
little  dwelt  upon.  Like  many  a  professed  Christian  elsewhere,  the 
mountaineer  has  not  learned  the  lesson  of  self-effacement.  He  is 
not  willing  to  decrease  that  others  may  increase.  Self-preserva- 
tion here  is  a  large  factor  in  determining  his  ethical  standards;  and 
self-preservation  hereafter  a  part  of  his  religion. 

For  one  so  little  versed  in  reading  he  has  a  remarkable  knowl- 
edge of  the  Scriptures.  He  "loves"  to  "read  after"  them,  and  to 
"study  on"  them.  Even  when  nearly  illiterate  he  often  has  a  real 
appreciation  of  the  beauty  of  their  language  and  of  human  nature 

177 


THE  SOUTHERN  HIGHLANDER 

as  revealed  in  their  pages,  as  well  as  ingenious  interpretations  or 
deductions  to  draw  from  the  context.  The  compelling  fashion  in 
which  an  old  patriarch  of  the  Highlands  recounted  the  story  of 
Abraham  is  not  easily  forgotten: 

"Abraham  went  out  in  the  wilderness  on  a  four  days'  journey, 
and  he  took  with  him  several  camels  and  she-asses  and  built  hisself 
an  altar  unto  the  Lord.  And  he  packed  wood  hisself  for  the  altar. 
And  Isaac  said  unto  Abraham, '  Pap,  whar's  the  ram?'  And  Abra- 
ham said  unto  Isaac,  'Son,  you  needn't  be  worritted  about  the 
ram.     The  Lord  will  pervide  a  sacrifice.' 

"Then  Abraham  took  his  son  and  stripped  him,  and  he  drew  his 
knife "  here  the  old  man  paused  and  his  voice  grew  uncon- 
sciously tender,  "  Kindly  slow-like,  don't  you  reckon,  cause  hit 
were  his  boy,  and  turned  away  his  head.  And  the  Lord  stationed 
his  arm.  And  there  was  a  ram,  catched  by  his  horn  in  the  grape- 
vme! 

"  I've  studied  a  right  smart,  and  1  've  asked  a  heap  of  men  learned 
in  books.  What  do  you  reckon  would  have  happened  if  Abraham 
had  killed  Isaac?  /  reckon  there  wouldn't  have  been  no  need  to 
kill  Christ.  The  Scripture  says  we  must  be  saved  by  blood,  and 
we  would  have  been  saved  by  the  blood  of  Isaac." 

The  Scriptures  are  the  source  from  which  arguments  are  drawn 
for  every  important  discussion  of  Church  or  State,  or  of  life  in 
general.  To  bolster  up  a  cause  or  an  opinion  the  Highlander  is 
able  to  quote  disassociated  texts — "textes"  as  he  would  say — and 
often,  too  often,  the  Book  of  Books  becomes  a  cudgel  for  the  head 
of  an  opponent  rather  than  a  "lamp  unto  the  feet." 

It  was  the  writer's  experience  upon  one  occasion  to  deliver  a  ser- 
mon at  the  same  meeting  with  two  mountain  preachers.  It  had 
been  the  custom  for  the  school  pastor  to  preach  in  a  distant  neigh- 
borhood on  those  Sundays  when  there  would  be  no  other  service. 
On  this  Sunday  he,  being  ill,  dispatched  the  "  Professor"  to  take 
his  place,  but  unfortunately  he  had  mistaken  the  day,  and  his  sub- 
stitute arrived  to  find  not  only  a  large  congregation  assembled  but 
two  preachers  native  to  the  region  already  present,  the  one  a  young 
man  new  to  the  calling,  and  the  other  an  older  man  of  considerable 
reputation  throughout  the  countryside.  Despite  the  efforts  of  the 
latest  comer  to  withdraw,  it  was  held  by  the  two  first  on  the  field 

178 


THE  RELIGIOUS  LIFE  OF  THE  RURAL  HIGHLANDS 

that  all  three  should  preach,  for  the  Brother  had  traveled  a  long 
distance;  he  was  a  learned  man;  and  the  audience  was  expecting 
to  hear  him.  They  decided,  furthermore,  after  some  consulta- 
tion, that  he  should  speak  second — a  convenient  middle,  as  he 
afterward  discovered,  upon  which  pressure  could  be  exerted  from 
both  sides.  The  young  man  began.  He  introduced  his  discourse 
by  saying  that  there  was  present  that  day  a  stranger  who  would 

speak  to  them.    Hewas  a  very  learned  teacher.    He  came  from ; 

all  the  audience  knew ;  it  was  the  greatest  institution  of  learn- 
ing in  the  county.  However,  in  the  second  chapter  of  Matthew 
the  Lord  Jesus  had  said,  "  1  thank  Thee,  O  Father,  because  Thou 
hast  hid  these  things  from  the  wise  and  prudent  and  hast  revealed 
them  unto  babes";  so  perhaps  he  himself  would  have  something 
worth  hearing  to  say  to  them.  When  he  had  finished,  the  writer 
spoke  briefly  and  as  well  as  he  could  after  his  inauspicious  introduc- 
tion. Thereupon  the  old  man  rose.  Stroking  his  long  white  beard, 
he  thus  addressed  his  audience  and  completed  the  work  so  well 
started  by  his  companion:  "I  take  my  text  from  Deuteronomy 
(just  where  he  did  not  disclose).  'The  Lord  said  not  to  listen  to 
them  that  has  smooth  faces,  but  to  hearken  unto  them  that  has 
gray  hairs.'  " 

A  common  misconception  as  to  the  mountaineer  is  that  he  is  a 
stolid  person.  What  passes  for  stolidity  when  he  is  in  an  environ- 
ment other  than  his  own,  or  with  strangers,  is  a  self-protective 
attitude — an  "on  guard"  frame  of  mind.  In  point  of  fact  he  is 
very  emotional,  easily  moved  and  easily  led  by  those  who  have  his 
confidence.  Moreover,  despite  the  lack  of  connection  often  exist- 
ing between  his  religious  ideas  and  ethics,  he  feels  himself  account- 
able to  a  Higher  Power  for  the  deeds  of  his  life,  and  he  has,  too,  a 
sense  of  responsibility  for  his  neighbor's  soul.  This  sense  of  re- 
sponsibility for  another  in  the  hour  of  stress  was  strikingly  illus- 
trated in  a  county  which  the  writer  visited  with  a  friend  in  whose 
field  it  occurred.  The  leader  of  one  of  the  worst  feuds  in  the 
mountains,  in  a  moment  of  anger  shot  a  man  to  whose  house  he 
had  gone  for  liquor,  because  he  assumed  that  the  refusal  to  give  it 
to  him  was  due  to  unwillingness  rather  than  to  lack  of  whiskey. 
As  his  victim  fell  fatally  wounded  and  endeavored  to  speak,  the 
murderer  bent  over  him  and  said,  "  I'm  right  sorry  1  had  to  kill 

179 


THE  SOUTHERN  HIGHLANDER 

you."  Then  turning  to  the  bystanders,  he  asked  someone  to  offer 
pra\er  for  the  dying  man.  As  no  one  volunteered,  he  himself,  de- 
claring "it  ain't  right  to  let  this  man's  soul  go  naked  into  the 
presence  of  his  Maker  without  prayer,"  knelt  beside  the  man  whom 
he  had  wounded  unto  death  and  offered  prayer  in  his  behalf. 

This  is,  of  course,  a  paradoxical  case,  but  no  one  who  has  at- 
tended the  big  religious  gatherings  of  any  native  church  in  the 
mountains  and  has  witnessed  the  pleadings  of  neighbor  with  neigh- 
bor, the  old  with  the  young,  and  often  the  youth  and  maiden  with 
companions  of  their  own  years,  can  fail  to  see  that  concern  for 
others  has  a  part  in  their  religious  life. 

Usually  the  "conversions"  have,  or  are  supposed  to  have,  some 
impressive  preliminary  experiences,  and  when  these  do  not  occur 
it  is  sometimes  a  matter  of  deep  anxiety  to  the  waiting  one.  A 
pathetic  memory  is  that  of  a  saintly  old  man  of  eighty-five,  who 
had  been  "rassling  in  prayer"  for  years  for  the  assurance  of  sal- 
vation. Often  he  had  sent  for  a  friend,  a  young  pastor,  to  pray 
with  him.  But  notwithstanding  the  pastor's  assurance,  the  old 
man  was  going  to  his  grave  hopeless  because  he  had  not  ex- 
perienced certain  emotions  or  seen  certain  visions  expected  as  an 
earnest  of  redemption. 

Visions,  dreams,  and  omens  have  a  part  in  the  life  of  the  people, 
especially  in  the  life  of  the  older  women.  An  elderly  woman, 
known  to  the  writer,  was  deeply  affronted  because  the  preacher 
who  had  officiated  at  her  son's  funeral  had  taken  the  occasion  to 
emphasize  his  own  convictions  on  baptism.  The  soul  of  the  boy, 
he  said,  was  lost,  because  although  he  had  been  a  mighty  good  boy 
and  had  prayed  on  his  death-bed,  he  had  never  been  baptized. 
The  mother  thereupon  had  a  vision,  in  which  her  son  appeared  and 
declared  that  he  was  not  going  to  have  any  preacher  standing  over 
his  grave  saying  he  was  lost,  when  his  soul  was  shining  bright  as 
any  star.  The  offices  of  a  new  and  young  preacher  must  be  se- 
cured, who  should  preach  another  sermon  and  tell  the  assembled 
people  of  the  mother's  experience.     These  directions  were  followed. 

A  little  later  the  mother  had  a  second  vision,  which  conveniently 
enabled  her  to  do  some  electioneering  for  a  living  son.  "  Do  you 
believe  in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ?"  said  the  vision,  "Well,  this  is 
his  spirit  a-talking  to  you."     Whereupon  she  was  advised  to  per- 

i8o 


THE  RELIGIOUS  LIFE  OF  THE  RURAL  HIGHLANDS 

suade  the  man  who  was  an  obstacle  to  her  son's  election  to  go  away 
by  telling  him  that  the  disease  which  was  affecting  him  was  "heart 
dropsy."  If  he  should  go  away  he  would  be  cured,  but  if  he  should 
stay  and  fight  her  son  his  dropsy  would  wear  him  away  "drapby 
drap,  drap  by  drap,  drap  by  drap,  till  he  was  all  gone."  The 
authority  of  the  vision  was  irresistible,  and  the  man  left  the  country. 

The  older  mountain  preachers  play  upon  these  beliefs  and 
doubtless  many  share  in  them  themselves.  One  preacher  who  had 
opposed  the  Sabbath  school  as  an  innovation  subversive  of  sound 
doctrine,  told  in  a  dramatic  way  of  his  vision  of  a  roaring  lion  seek- 
ing to  enter  the  "church-house"  door,  but  put  to  flight  by  a  beau- 
tiful spirit  robed  in  white.  The  roaring  lion  symbolized  the  Sab- 
bath school,  eager  to  destroy  the  young  of  the  parish,  and  the  beau- 
tiful figure  in  white  was  "the  spirit  of  the  old-time  religion." 

At  the  risk  of  seeming  to  give  the  impression  that  these  are  the 
only  types  of  native  ministers  found  in  the  mountains,  special 
reference  should  be  made  to  these  older  men,  not  only  because  of 
their  numbers  through  the  rural  sections  but  because  they  represent 
one  of  the  strong  links  with  the  past  which  here  in  the  Highlands 
have  not  yet  been  broken. 

Most  of  the  older  ministers  have  an  extremely  limited  education; 
very  few  have  received  any  scholastic  training  for  their  calling. 
They  are  usually  men  of  native  ability  who  still  have  much  in- 
fluence over  the  older  people — influence  which  they  exercise  by 
reason  of  the  fact  that  they  have  received  what  they  themselves, 
and  their  people  as  well,  believe  to  be  a  divine  call  to  preach. 
Their  mission  is  not  that  of  the  priest  but  of  the  prophet,  serving 
often  with  little  or  no  pay.  Occasionally  one  assumes  the  role  of 
a  political  Jeremiah,  warning  his  people  to  escape  impending  doom 
by  electing  him  to  the  county  office  to  which  he  aspires.  A  min- 
ister of  this  sort  in  a  section  which  the  writer  visited  some  years 
ago,  offered  to  deliver  on  Sundays  the  funeral  sermons  that  had 
not  been  preached,  of  all  "departed  relatives  and  friends"  in  the 
district.  During  the  rest  of  the  week  he  carried  on  his  campaign 
for  office.  His  opponent,  a  "tooth-dentist,"  followed  on  his  trail. 
At  the  end  of  each  funeral  oration  the  tooth-dentist  was  wont  to 
announce  that  he  would  pull  aching  teeth  free  of  cost  during  the 
following  week.     There  being  more  aching  teeth  than  departed 

181 


THE  SOUTHERN  HIGHLANDER 

relatives  with  unpreached  sermons,  the  tooth-dentist  was  elected 
county  clerk. 

Among  these  preachers  are  many  who  have  grown  tender 
through  experience  and  have  a  firm  hold  on  the  deeper  things  of 
life.  They  have,  too,  keen  insight  and  a  knowledge  of  human 
nature,  dramatic  power,  and  an  ability  to  touch  responsive  chords 
in  the  hearts  of  their  hearers — a  combination  of  endowments  which 
makes  them  leaders  not  to  be  ignored  in  any  effort  for  betterment. 
Such  men,  riding  or  walking  year  by  year  the  many  miles  of  their 
wide  circuit,  have  so  endeared  themselves  to  their  people  that  a 
memorial  service  will  be  indefinitely  delayed  until  the  desired 
preacher  can  be  present.  Characteristic  was  the  act  of  one  of 
these  ministers  who,  in  his  journey  across  the  mountain  from  one 
day's  preaching  station  to  the  next,  spent  the  night  in  a  home  where 
a  baby  had  died  the  previous  year.  It  was  impossible  for  the 
visitor  to  remain  another  day,  so  to  comfort  the  mourning  mother 
he  climbed  by  night  the  steep  hill  above  the  house  to  the  cemetery, 
and  there  in  the  moonlight  preached  to  the  little  family  group  the 
baby's  funeral  sermon. 

The  real  humanity  of  men  like  this  is  often  singularly  at  variance 
with  the  harsh  theology  of  their  preaching.  In  their  sermons  there 
is  usually  little  of  the  love  of  God  and  the  beauty  of  holiness,  but 
much  of  the  worm  that  never  dieth  and  the  fire  that  is  not  quenched 
— themes  which  are  developed  with  masterly  detail.  At  times  the 
sermon  is  largely  a  disconnected  succession  of  unrelated  texts  de- 
livered in  an  almost  unintelligible  sing-song  which  rises  at  intervals 
to  a  shout,  and  is  interspersed  with  occasional  direct  remarks 
uttered  in  a  natural  tone  and  containing  the  actual  substance  of 
the  discourse.  While  delivering  his  address  the  preacher  strides 
to  and  fro,  now  in  front  of,  and  again  among  his  congregation, 
appealing  collectively  and  individually  to  the  different  members. 

This  type  of  preaching,  so  marked  as  to  have  elicited  much  com- 
ment and  to  have  led  to  the  mistaken  impression  that  it  is  char- 
acteristic of  all  mountain  preaching,  is  in  point  of  fact  purely  con- 
ventional, and  probably  almost  as  much  a  matter  of  tradition^  as 

^Newman,  the  Baptist  historian,  writing  of  conditions  among  Baptists  in  the 
early  nineteenth  century,  says: 

"Many  men     *****    devoted  a  large  amount  of  time  to  private  study 

182 


THE  RELIGIOUS  LIFE  OF  THE  RURAL  HIGHLANDS 

the  old  songs  and  ballads.  Its  inherent  power  to  stir  the  emotions 
is  seen  in  its  effect  upon  the  audience,  some  of  whom  are  usually 
thrown  into  a  state  of  great  religious  excitement.  Protracted 
meetings^  and  funeral  preachings  in  particular,  are  marked  often 
by  a  high  intensity  of  emotional  expression.  It  is  indeed  the  office 
of  the  preacher  on  such  occasions  to  stir  the  audience  to  tears  and 
repentance,  and  his  success  is  measured  somewhat  by  the  extent 
to  which  he  accomplishes  this.  The  Highlander,  moreover,  is  so 
accustomed  to  emotional  preaching  that  he  is  wont  to  characterize 
the  more  restrained  methods  of  foreign  ministers  as  "not  real  re- 
ligion." 

The  emotional  appeal  of  the  sermon  is  greatly  heightened  by 
the  hymns.  Through  large  sections,  modern  evangelical  hymns 
are  now  used  by  both  native  and  foreign  churches,  although  they 
are  often  sung  in  the  old  manner,  with  marked  and  arbitrary 
rhythm  and  inserted  slurring  half-notes.     A  marked  partiality  is 

and  became  good  literary  and  theological  scholars;  but  a  large  proportion  undoubt- 
edly fell  very  far  short  of  attaining  to  such  a  grasp  of  the  truth  as  would  have  made 
them  instructive  preachers.  Noisy  declamations  in  unnatural  tones,  accompanied 
by  violent  physical  exercises  and  manifest  emotional  excitement,  in  too  many  cases 
took  the  place  of  intelligent  exposition  of  the  truth  made  vital  by  the  indwelling 
power  of  the  spirit.  The  latter  part  of  the  preceding  period,  and  the  beginning  of 
the  present,  produced  a  large  number  of  Baptist  preachers  of  the  highest  grade; 
but  the  average  of  ministerial  culture  was  low,  and  the  large  amount  of  illiteracy  in 
the  ministry,  and  the  widespread  satisfaction  with  an  illiterate  ministry,  furnished 
an  obstacle  of  the  most  serious  nature  to  the  onward  and  upward  movement  that 
had  characterized  the  recent  history  of  the  denomination." — Newman,  A.  H.:  A 
History  of  the  Baptist  Churches  in  the  United  States,  p.  382.  New  York,  The 
Christian  Literature  Co.,  1894. 

1  "The  annual  protracted  meeting  was  an  establishment  by  which  the  time  of 
other  events  was  reckoned,  and  is  still  reckoned  so  in  many  places.  Things  hap- 
pened three  weeks  before,  or  a  month  after  the  'big  meeting.'  The  meetings 
were  usually  held  in  August,  during  the  period  of  comparative  leisure  after  the 
crops  were  'laid  by.'  They  continued  for  one  or  two  weeks,  and  consisted  of  a 
service  each  forenoon,  and  one  at  'early  candle  light'  in  the  evening.  In  these 
meetings  the  pastor,  if  we  are  to  indicate  by  that  term  the  pioneer  preacher  in  his 
once-a-month  or  fewer  regular  visits  to  the  church,  was  nearly  always  assisted  by 
one  or  more  visiting  preachers,  who  did  the  preaching.  During  the  meeting  the 
pastor  went  to  see  the  people,  here  for  dinner,  and  yonder  for  the  night,  the  visiting 
preachers  foregathering  with  him  to  enjoy  the  winsome  and  whole-hearted  hospi- 
tality of  the  people.  It  was  the  only  visit  made  for  the  whole  year  by  the  preacher 
to  most  of  the  homes,  but  its  infrequency  was  partly  balanced  by  the  generous  open- 
heartedness  with  which  the  visitors  were  taken  into  the  family  circle.  From  these 
meetings  came  the  converts  and  church  members, — nearly  all  who  came  at  all." — 
Masters,  Victor  !.:  Baptist  Missions  in  the  South:  A  Century  of  the  Saving  Impact 
of  a  Great  Spiritual  Body  on  Society  in  the  Southern  States,  pp.  24-23.  Baptist 
Home  Mission  Board,  Southern  Convention,  1915. 

183 


THE  SOUTHERN  HIGHLANDER 

shown  for  those  having  a  chorus,  or  much  repetition,  such  as: 

There's  a  beautiful  land,  far  beyond  the  sky, 

And  Jesus,  our  Saviour,  is  there. 
He  has  gone  to  prepare  us  a  place  on  high. 

Oh  I  long.  Oh  I  long  to  be  there. 

Chorus: 

In  that  beautiful  land,  where  the  angels  stand, 

We  shall  meet, shall  meet, 

We  shall  meet, shall  meet, 

We  shall  meet  in  that  beautiful  land. 

In  some  places  the  music  is  printed  in  shaped  notes,  by  which  the 
singer  reads  the  note  from  its  peculiar  shape  rather  than  from  its 
place  on  the  staff. 

There  are,  however,  still  sung  in  certain  neighborhoods  the  tra- 


i-l: 


3: 


!-*--J — 4- 


-* ^ • — 

Guide  me  O  Thou     great     Je     -     ho    -     vah, 

1  am         weak,  but        Thou     art  might- y. 


-i-^ 


->-rr- 


lA 


'Ji± 


Pil     - 

grim 

thro' 

this 

bar  -  ren 

land. 

Hold 

me 

with 

Thy 

power-  ful 

hand 

£b 


■<^ 


Strong      De  -  liv'  -  rer.  Be   Thou  still  my  strength     and  shield, 


I 


^r-4- 


f 


ii 


J==:t 


Strong 


De 


liv 


rer,       Strong        De  -  liv'     -     rer 


^=^ 


:^ 


Be  Thou  still  my        strength      and     shield. 

184 


THE  RELIGIOUS  LIFE  OF  THE  RURAL  HIGHLANDS 

ditional  tunes  of  older  hymns,  the  words  alone  being  printed  and 
"lined  out,"  that  is,  read  or  recited  from  memory,  line  by  line,  by 
the  preacher.  Some  of  these  tunes  with  their  unfamiliar  and  old- 
time  intervals,  possess  a  strange  and  somber  beauty  which  strikes 
to  the  heart  even  of  the  unregenerate  foreigner. 

Others  suggest  the  old  carols^  and  ballads-  in  their  semi-narrative 
form,  and  the  long  telling  of  Bible  stories: 


.i^-tt^ 


^^     ^'    9    I W. ^- 


-*»- 


ZSZZJr 


■G^ 


\ 


There  was    a       lit  -  tie    fam' -  ly       Lived  up    in    Beth  -  an -y, 


O'^l 

ra 

y  r'-yi'^ 

^ 

.        ,1 

'  ^S 

/      > 

m' 

m 

1 

1        '          ' 

1 

V\  ^ 

m 

m 

1^ 

;    m 

* 

v> 

I                  m      ^ 

"* 

J      m 

tJ 

^ 

"" 

Two    sis  -  ters  and  one    brother.       Composed  that  fam  -  i  -  ly. 


jS- 


■g  0- 


Z^lfi 


izii 


With  pray'r  and  with  sing-ing,     Like  an  -  gels    in    the      sky. 


:is^S5 


1- 


At    morn -ing  and    at  eve-ning,    They  raised  their  voices    high. 

Still  Others,  in  accord  with  the  spirit  of  the  sermon,  are  mournful 
in  the  extreme,  with  their  emphasis  upon  the  uncertainty  and 
wickedness  of  life  and  the  certainty  of  death  and  judgment. 


^  Several  versions  of  the  old  Cherry  Tree  Carol  have  been  collected.  See  Camp- 
bell and  Sharp:  English  Folk  Songs  from  the  Southern  .Appalachians,  No.  13.  New 
York,  G.  P.  Putnam's  Sons,  1917. 

2  Words  may  be  found  in  A  New  and  Choice  Selection  of  Hymns  and  Spiritual 
Songs  for  the  Use  of  the  Regular  Baptist  Church,  by  Elder  E.  D.  Ihomas,  No.  449. 
Catlettsburg,  Ky.,  C.  L.  McConnell,  1871. 

185 


THE  SOUTHERN  HIGHLANDER 


g 


* 


3: 


-i9- 


l^ 


-72)- 


emn     call     to        all  —  A      sud  -  den 


-"• w 

Death  what      a 


sol 


n\ 


^ *- 


-6h- 


i5?- 


^ • 


judg-ment     to      us     all;   Death  takes  the      young        as       well      as 


-1^^- 


-« *- 


-^ ^ '—3^ 


,7  ^J    • 

old;         And       in       the        wind     -      ing       sheet     doth      fold. 


I  spied  a  youth  the  other  day. 
Just  in  his  prime,  he  looked  so  gay; 
His  time  is  come,  his  days  are  past, 
And  he  must  go  to  the  grave  at  last. 

His  father  and  mother  standing  round, 
With  tears  a-falling  to  the  ground; 
Saying,  father,  father!  pray  for  me. 
For  1  must  go  to  eternity. 

His  faithful  sisters  standing  by, 

Saying  brother,  brother!  you're  going  to  die; 

You've  trifled  all  your  days  away. 

And  now  must  go  to  eternity. 

And  when  the  corpse  was  brought  to  the  ground. 
His  friends  and  relations  standing  round, 
With  sorrowful  hearts  and  troubled  mind. 
To  think  his  soul's  in  hell  confin'd. 

A  story,  late,  has  just  been  told — 
A  warning  for  both  young  and  old, 
For  to  prepare  to  meet  the  Lord, 
That  we  may  hear  his  happy  word. 


o 

ye 

young. 

ye 

gay,      ye 

proud, 

You 

must 

Time 

will 

rob 

you 

of     your 

bloom, 

Death 

will 

Then 

you'll 

cry, 

I 

want     to 

be. 

Hap    - 

py 

i86 


THE  RELIGIOUS  LIFE  OF  THE  RURAL  HIGHLANDS 

Chorus. 


^fe 


j*—^ 


-p^ 


-5»- 


die      and      wear      the    shroud,         E  -  tern    -   i 
drag    you       to        your    tomb;  1      want      to 

in         e   -    tern    -    i     -     ty. 


ty. 

be, 


jci-tijC 


-«- 


-1 — \- 


tern  -   i   -   ty! 
want    to      be. 


E 
I 


1 


Then  you'll      cry        I        want      to       be, 
Hap  -  py  in         E   -   tern    -    i    -    ty! 


Will  you  go  to  heaven  or  hell? 
One  you  must,  and  there  to  dwell — 
Christ  will  come,  and  quickly  too, 
I  must  meet  him,  so  must  you; 
Then  you'll  cry,  1  want  to  be 
Happy  in  eternity. 

Chorus. 

The  judgment  throne  will  soon  appear,- 
All  this  world  shall  then  draw  near. 
Sinners  will  be  driven  down. 
Saints  will  wear  a  starry  crown; 
Then  you'll  cry,  I  want  to  be 
Happy  in  eternity. 

Chorus. 


Until  one  has  heard  these  hymns,  sung  in  a  Httle  mountain 
church  dimly  lighted  by  smoking,  flickering  pine  torches,  he  cannot 
know  how  powerfully  they  grip  the  listener.  The  congregation 
sways  to  and  fro,  in  part  to  the  rhythm  of  the  music,  in  part  to 
express  the  inner  surge  of  feeling  aroused  by  the  exhortations  of 
the  preacher  and  the  tense  emotional  atmosphere.  It  is  but  a  step 
from  this  to  sobs  and  tears,  to  shouting,  screaming,  jumping  up  and 
down,  and  even  to  more  violent  manifestations. 

Miss  Miles,  herself  a  mountaineer,  writes: 

No  attempt  is  ever  made  to  check  the  excitement,  although  its 
excess  has  been  known  to  result  in  insanity  and  even  death,  for 
whoso  dies  shouting  happy  is  held  to  have  met  a  fortunate  end. 
1  hesitate  to  say  much  of  this,  for  there  is  a  tendency  among  cer- 
tain classes  of  city  people  to  make  a  jest  of  these  peculiarities, 
to  which  we  of  the  mountains  are  becoming  more  sensitive  \'ear 
14  187 


THE  SOUTHERN  HIGHLANDER 

by  year.  It  ought  not  to  be  so — God  knows  what  the  old  cere- 
monies mean  to  those  who  take  part  in  them;  but  such  is  the 
persecution  in  some  places  where  the  curiosity  of  the  town  is 
pressing  close  in  on  us  that  even  after  a  congregation  has  met 
together  to  hold  a  foot-washing,  if  any  city  people  are  present 
who  are  not  well  known  and  trusted,  the  occasion  will  be  quietly 
turned  into  an  ordinary  preaching.^ 

As  the  young  people  come  under  the  influence  of  schools,  the 
shortcomings  of  the  native  preachers  and  practices  are  brought 
into  sharp  relief.  Usually  there  are  Sabbath  schools  in  connection 
with  the  church  and  independent  schools  and  in  their  outlying 
stations.  Frequently,  too,  the  denominations  which  are  main- 
taining educational  work  in  the  mountains  send  ministers  to  these 
fields.  These  men  are  better  educated  than  the  older  native 
preachers,  who  not  infrequently  are  displaced  in  such  neighbor- 
hoods by  younger  mountain  men  of  their  own  church,  better  trained 
to  meet  the  competition  of  the  "  foreign  preacher."  The  inevitable 
change  of  attitude  on  the  part  of  the  young  people  is  attributed  by 
the  old  ministers  to  education  and  to  the  Sabbath  schools,  and 
rightly  so.  Consequently,  many  of  them,  as  they  see  their  former 
leadership  waning,  oppose  such  innovations.  The  day  of  these 
men  is  passing,  though  slowly  in  some  sections  and  new  men,  many 
of  them  having  the  little  knowledge  which  is  so  dangerous  a  thing, 
are  taking  their  places.  The  problem  of  support  will  for  some  time 
yet  limit  such  new  men  largely  to  centers  of  influence,  although 
even  here  in  some  instances  new  preachers,  too  advanced  theo- 
logically for  their  constituency,  have  met  with  as  little  success  as 
have  some  of  the  "foreign"  ministers.  We  have  in  mind  a  number 
of  such  cases,  especially  that  of  a  young  native  minister  of  excep- 
tional character  and  ability  who  was  endeavoring  to  work  in  har- 
mony with  all  helpful  agencies,  native  and  foreign,  but  who  was 
forced  to  leave  the  field  because  his  congregation  failed  to  maintain 
him. 

It  is  to  be  remembered  that  all  churches,  whatever  their  de- 
nomination, that  have  ministered  long  to  remote  communicants 
of  the  mountains,  are  extremely  conservative  and  are  not  to  be 

^  Miles,  Emma  B.:  The  Spirit  of  the  Mountains,  pp.  133-134.  New  York,  James 
Pott  and  Company,  1903. 

188 


THE  RELIGIOUS  LIFE  OF  THE  RURAL  HIGHLANDS 

taken  as  the  measure  of  the  denomination  in  more  accessible  re- 
gions within  and  without  the  Highlands.  Their  strength  and 
their  weaknesses  are  those  of  rural  churches  served  by  men  inti- 
mately acquainted  with  their  people,  but  illiterate  or  having  a 
limited  education  and  holding  to  the  older  theological  conceptions, 
especially  those  which  emphasize  the  futility  of  personal  effort. 
With  all  its  limitations,  however,  the  mountain  church  has  been  a 
conserver  of  the  best  in  mountain  life  and  is  yet  the  best  organized 
mountain  agency  for  the  promotion  of  spiritual  growth. 

it  is  not  an  easy  matter  to  estimate  the  influence  exerted  by  the 
foreign  churches  as  a  whole.  Apparently  the  coming  into  the 
mountains  of  the  ministers  of  these  denominations  has  awakened 
the  native  churches  to  the  need  of  better  trained  preachers  for 
themselves.  If  this  be  the  only  result  attained  it  has  been  worth 
the  effort  made,  though  the  foreign  churches  must  give  a  share, 
and  probably  the  larger  share,  of  the  credit  for  this  change  to  the 
church  schools.  It  is  almost  impossible  to  disassociate  the  in- 
fluence of  these  churches  from  that  of  the  church  schools  through 
their  Sabbath  schools  and  other  religious  organizations,  which  are 
carried  on  in  man\'  places,  without  a  church  or  pastor.  The  same 
may  be  said  of  the  Christian  activities  of  the  independent  schools. 
if  the  questionable  standard  of  numbers  and  increase  in  member- 
ship be  emplo)ed  as  a  measure  of  success,  these  foreign  churches 
have  been  unsuccessful,  and  beyond  question  the  spiritual  influence 
of  the  schools  and  their  allied  Christian  organizations  is  far  greater 
than  that  of  these  churches  considered  alone. 

The  reasons  for  limitation  in  influence  are  many.  Prominent 
among  them  is  the  shortness  of  the  term  of  service  of  pastors  on 
the  field.  Young  men  who  feel  the  call  to  the  mountains  are  of 
necessity  forced  out  ere  long  unless  they  forego  all  thought  of  a 
home  of  their  own,  have  an  independent  income,  or  are  willing  to 
attempt  to  bring  up  a  famil)'  on  a  salary  barely  sufficient  for  one 
person.  Those  who  remain  are  often  expected  to  help  in  the  school, 
as  well  as  to  be  pastor  of  the  church,  and  in  addition  to  carry  the 
work  of  one  or  two  men.  At  times  where  there  are  both  pastors 
and  school  principals  on  the  same  field,  differences  of  view  cause 
both  church  and  school  work  to  suffer.  It  is  difficult  in  such  places 
to  draw  the  line  between  the  so-called  religious  and  the  so-called 

189 


THE  SOUTHERN  HIGHLANDER 

secular  work  of  the  schools,  and  with  final  authority  indefinite, 
there  is  not  infrequently  a  crossing  of  purposes. 

A  too  general  tendency  prevails  on  the  part  of  both  pastors  and 
teachers  to  force  upon  the  mountain  people  modes  and  methods 
natural  in  other  regions  but  unnatural  to  the  mountaineer.  Too 
many  sent  to  this  field  have  felt  it  necessary  to  bring  the  moun- 
taineer to  adopt  their  point  of  view  and  their  forms.  Those  who 
send,  and  those  who  go,  regard  their  mission  altogether  too  much 
as  one  of  "teaching  the  people  better  ways";  that  is  to  say,  "their 
ways."  Too  seldom  the  question  is  asked,  "May  we  not  learn?" 
It  is  perhaps  because  many  have  been  unwilling  to  learn,  that  the 
foreign  churches  have  failed  in  number  and  in  influence.  More 
intelligent  tolerance  is  needed;  more  of  Christianity  and  less  of  its 
by-product,  denominationalism.  It  is  usually  the  enforced  non- 
essential that  bars  the  church  door.  If  foreign  ministers  would 
follow  so  far  as  they  conscientiously  could  the  practices  that  have 
through  long  association  become  somewhat  sacred  to  the  moun- 
taineer, and  beautify  rather  than  abolish  these,  there  would  be  an 
increase  in  church  membership  and  prestige. 

In  one  field  some  years  ago  a  denomination  deservedly  noted  for 
the  excellence  of  its  school  work,  took  officially  a  position  in  regard 
to  baptism  that  seemed  to  the  mountaineer  and  to  some  of  his 
friends  inconsistent,  more  inconsistent  than  that  taken  by  the 
illiterate  mountain  preacher.  He  holds  that  there  is  but  one  true 
method  of  baptism  for  all  believers.  The  particular  church  in  the 
field  mentioned,  though  holding  the  more  consistent  belief  that 
any  mode  is  valid,  insisted  upon  its  own  form  when  the  mountaineer 
would  join  it;  or  forced  him  to  satisfy  his  conscience  by  receiving 
baptism  at  other  hands  before  it  would  admit  him  into  church 
fellowship. 

In  another  denomination  noted  for  the  freedom  of  action  it  al- 
lows the  individual,  a  technicality  of  belief  forbids  the  mountain 
preacher,  who  is  used  to  speaking  where  he  will,  from  occupying 
its  pulpits.  While  visiting  a  school  of  this  denomination  the  writer 
was  at  one  time  asked,  as  is  the  usual  custom  in  the  mountains,  to 
address  the  students  in  chapel  on  some  religious  subject.  The 
question  then  arose  as  to  whether  as  a  layman  and  of  a  different 
denomination,  he  could  be  permitted  to  speak  in  the  church  build- 

190 


THE  RELIGIOUS  LIFE  OF  THE  RURAL  HIGHLANDS 

ing  where  chapel  was  to  be  held,  the  momentous  decision  being 
finally  concluded  in  the  affirmative  when  it  was  remembered  that 
the  building  had  not  been  as  yet  officially  set  aside  for  religious 
purposes. 

Another  block  of  stumbling  is  placed  in  the  way  unintentionally, 
by  supporters  at  a  distance.  A  strong,  promising  young  man  of  a 
denomination  not  dominant  in  the  mountains  is  sent  to  the  field, 
and  "results"  are  looked  for  by  the  end  of  the  first  year  and  con- 
fidently expected  the  second;  these  results  being  measured  usually 
by  the  number  of  communicants  added  to  this  "foreign"  church, 
and  by  the  local  contributions  made  to  its  support.  Such  results 
may  even  be  demanded  as  prerequisite  for  additional  funds. 

The  natural  reaction  of  the  Highlander,  accustomed  to  a  ministry 
which  derives  its  support  mainly  from  labor  like  his  own,  is  to  look 
with  suspicion  at  these  efforts  for  numbers  and  support  from  the 
field,  and  it  usually  culminates  in  active  antagonism.  Religion 
thus  becomes  increasingly  a  matter  of  controversy. 

Would  that  there  might  be  sent  into  this  rural  mountain  field, 
and  to  other  rural  fields  as  well,  men  instructed  by  their  denomina- 
tions, native  or  foreign,  to  forget  that  they  are  anything  but  Chris- 
tian ministers  whose  definite  purpose  is  to  reinforce,  not  to  compete 
with,  all  Christian  forces  on  the  field — men  more  anxious  to  win 
followers  of  the  Great  Leader  than  to  make  more  of  the  twelve 
kinds  of  Presbyterians,  fifteen  kinds  of  Adventists,  four  kinds  of 
disunited  United  Brethren,  or  Congregationalists,  Episcopalians, 
or  any  others  of  the  143  denominations  in  our  country  listed  under 
different  titles  by  the  Census  Bureau.  The  church  that  in  practice 
gives  evidence  of  such  a  belief  and  will  continue  to  sustain  men  who 
also  believe  it,  has  a  future  in  the  mountains  and  elsewhere. 

One  hesitates  even  to  mention  a  third  cause  of  failure,  or  to  seem 
to  pass  judgment  upon  any  group  of  men  who  have  sought  service 
in  fields  so  remote.  The  hesitancy  is  the  greater  because  there  are 
among  them  men  of  large  vision,  trained  intellect,  and  genuine 
spirituality,  who  have  been  dominated  in  their  choice  of  a  field 
simply  by  its  need  and  their  desire  to  be  of  service.  These  men 
would  have  succeeded  anywhere.  Exception  must  be  made  of 
them  in  any  statement  that  would  seem  to  call  in  question  the  in- 
fluence of  the  group.     Unhappily,  however,  the  pull  to  the  city 

191 


THE  SOUTHERN  HIGHLANDER 

has  aflFected  the  conception  of  the  relative  values  of  city  and  coun- 
try church  work,  and  perhaps  unconsciously  the  thought  has  grown 
up  that  men  unfitted  for  service  in  the  city  will  succeed  in  a  rural 
community.  Acting  upon  this  assumption,  or,  it  may  be,  through 
the  necessity  of  taking  those  that  could  be  had,  church  boards  have 
too  often  sent  into  the  mountains  ministers  entirely  unsuited  to 
the  needs  of  the  region  but  who  "might  do  some  good  in  the  coun- 
try." On  the  other  hand,  men  of  ability  have  been  sent  but  not 
supported,  and  their  intelligent  initiative  for  rural  betterment  has 
been  crushed  by  the  dictum  of  a  superior  officer,  who  knew  nothing 
of  rural  conditions  but  who  was  supposed  to  know  more  about 
them,  even  about  local  ones,  than  a  pastor  living  in  the  small  coun- 
try parish  he  was  serving. 

"When  they  send  us  the  right  kind  of  a  preacher,"  said  one 
Highlander,  "they  don't  keep  him  here,  and  too  often  the  man  who 
stays  is  below  the  level  of  his  congregation,  and  unable,  and  his 
wife  is  unable,  to  mingle  with  the  people."  There  was  no  intima- 
tion that  the  speaker,  a  person  of  education  and  influence,  had  any 
feeling  of  superiority.  He  simply  regretted  that  men  of  originality, 
progressiveness,  and  winning  personality,  as  well  as  of  deep  spir- 
ituality, could  not  be  retained.  In  a  more  forceful  and  direct  way, 
somewhat  the  same  thought  was  expressed  by  the  father  of  one  of 
the  most  noted  feud  leaders.  "You  are  wondering,"  said  he, 
"why  the  missionaries  among  the  Highlanders  are  a  failure.  I 
will  tell  you.  Their  missionaries  are  failures  because  the  men  the 
church  sends  were  failures  before  they  came.  They  have  sent  to 
us  ministers  who  have  no  brains  or  gumption — ministers  who  could 
not  get  a  church  anywhere  else.  If  you  are  to  touch  the  hearts  of 
these  Highlanders  you  must  send  us  the  bravest  men,  the  most 
able  and  consecrated  women  you  can  find.  Give  us  the  men  and 
women  who  can  make  a  success  in  any  place,  and  they  will  make  a 
success  here." 

A  similar  feeling  as  regards  city  and  country  values  has  prompted 
many  a  well-intentioned  ladies'  sewing  circle  to  send  worn-out, 
misfitting,  and  out-of-date  garments  to  the  mountain  field.  The 
practice  is  commendable  enough  on  the  ground  of  making  some  use 
of  remnants  or  misfits,  but  as  a  theory  of  rural  reconstruction  in 
any  form  it  is  fallacious  and  mischievous.     The  writer  recalls  one 

192 


THE  RELIGIOUS  LIFE  OF  THE  RURAL  HIGHLANDS 

out  of  the  many  mission  barrels  he  has  met — for  which,  rather,  he 
has  met  the  freight  bill — and  the  good  that  it  really  did  do.  This 
barrel,  which  stands  out  conspicuously  among  other  barrels,  con- 
tained two  pairs  of  frayed  duck  trousers,  a  battered  silk  hat,  and  a 
dress-coat  with  stains  upon  the  lapel,  which  indicated  that  it  had 
not  been  worn  in  a  prohibition  state.  There  were  in  that  barrel, 
also,  a  great  many  cigarette  cards  with  pictures  of  battleships,  of 
famous  race-horses,  and  of  notorious  actresses.  Sprinkled  as 
leaven  in  this  mixture,  were  Bible  cards  with  the  injunction  to 
"Remember  now  thy  Creator  in  the  days  of  thy  youth."  Seem- 
ingly these  things  had  not  been  held  as  serviceable  in  the  cultured 
city  from  which  they  were  sent,  so  were  shipped  to  the  writer 
with  the  thought  that  they  might  do  some  good  "down  there."  It 
cost  him  ^3.63  in  freight,  and  he  needed  the  money,  too,  to  try  out 
another's  theory  that  discards  might  do  somebody  some  good. 

In  times  of  discouragement,  when  he  could  not  convince  the 
board  secretaries  that  more  money  was  needed,  or  when  local  per- 
plexities loomed  large,  he  would  imagine  himself  clad  in  frayed 
duck  trousers,  a  wine-stained  dress-coat,  and  battered  silk  hat,  dis- 
tributing pictures  of  battleships,  of  race-horses,  and  of  actresses 
clad  in  gaudy  pink  and  blue  raiment,  none  too  plentiful,  to  the 
children  of  the  primary  department  for  "busy  work,"  as  suggested 
by  the  kindly  disposed  lady  who  sent  the  barrel  but  who  forgot 
to  pay  the  freight.  But  while  misfits  and  discards  may  serve 
humorously  at  times,  the  humor  is  too  often  of  the  pathetic  kind, 
in  which  the  tear  falls  to  meet  the  trembling  smile. 

Inferiority  and  mediocrity  are  not  qualifications  for  leadership 
in  rural  communities.  The  best  place  to  send  a  man  of  mediocre 
ability,  to  insure  a  measure  of  success,  would  seem  to  be  into  urban 
communities,  at  least  into  the  smaller  ones,  where  there  would  be  a 
number  of  people  to  assist  and  advise  him.  Live  men  are  wanted 
in  the  rural  ministry;  not  dead  ones  from  what  a  mountain  friend 
called  "them  thar  theological  cemeteries."  A  live  native  minister, 
though  illiterate,  wields  a  wider  influence  than  learned,  dead  im- 
ported ones.  Little  patience  is  due  the  sophistry  that  because  a 
man  is  good,  inefficient,  and  a  failure  elsewhere  he  is  qualified  for 
the  rural  ministry.  The  country  needs  men  who  are  not  only  good 
but  who  are  good  for  something. 

193 


THE  SOUTHERN  HIGHLANDER 

More  men  are  needed  in  the  mountains  who  have  the  large  social 
conception  of  the  ministry,  or,  shall  we  say,  the  sociological  con- 
ception of  the  ministry.  People  leave  the  country  for  the  city 
because  they  believe  that  in  the  city  they  have  a  fuller  life.  It  is 
the  province  of  the  country  church  and  of  its  leader  to  make  rural 
life  fuller. 

The  writer  realizes  that  he  is  on  dangerous  ground  when  he  inti- 
mates that  a  pastor  should  give  time  to  the  consideration  of  those 
things  by  which  men  must  live.  He  may  be  charged  by  those  who 
hold  that  the  pastor  has  only  to  do  with  spiritual  things,  with 
putting  him  on  the  plane  of  the  material  when  he  urges  that 
pastor  and  church  should  have  much  to  do  with  economic  and 
social  conditions.  He  would  not,  however,  have  the  pastor  ma- 
terialize the  spiritual,  but  spiritualize  the  material,  and  a  minister 
must  come  into  close  touch  with  the  lives  of  men  in  order  to  ac- 
complish this.  In  doing  it  he  is  but  following  the  example  of  the 
Great  Teacher  from  whom  we  all  seek  to  learn. 

In  all  probability  the  general  falling  off  of  candidates  for  the 
ministry  seriously  affects  this  most  remote  field,  but  there  is  little 
doubt  that  if  the  same  appeal  were  made  for  the  "home  field"  and 
for  service  in  rural  communities  as  is  made  in  the  colleges  and 
theological  seminaries  for  the  highest  type  of  young  men  and  wo- 
men for  the  "foreign  field,"  there  would  be  the  same  inspiring  re- 
sponse. There  is  as  much  heroism  in  the  hearts  of  young  men  as 
there  ever  was.  They  need  only  to  feel  that  the  work  of  a  country 
minister  is  a  man's  work;  and  that  if  they  do  a  man's  work  they 
will  have  moral  support,  a  fair  consideration  of  such  plans  of 
betterment  as  their  experiences  have  taught  them  are  practical  and 
promising,  and  enough  financial  return  to  enable  them  to  main- 
tain a  home  and  provide  for  the  future  of  those  dependent  upon 
them. 

Doubtless  certain  church  policies  and  forms  will  gain  a  readier 
entrance  in  the  Highlands  than  others,  but  the  measure  of  success 
is  in  the  man.  Personality  is  greater  than  method.  Consecrated 
ability  and  sanctified  common  sense  in  brave  men  and  women  are 
the  solution  for  all  our  problems. 


194 


CHAPTER  X 
LIVING  CONDITIONS  AND  HEALTH 

ONE  cannot  travel  far  in  the  mountain  country  without  fac- 
ing the  fact  that  romance  is  not  necessarily  synonymous 
with  comfort,  nor  is  the  beautiful  perforce  wholesome.  If 
one's  point  of  view  be  that  of  the  traveler  merely,  he  enjoys  the 
pleasures  of  the  journey  and  tries  to  disregard  as  far  as  possible  the 
less  agreeable  aspects;  but  if  one  stays  in  the  mountains  he  cannot 
long  remain  indifferent  to  the  various  considerations  which  bear 
upon  the  welfare  of  the  people.  Sickness  is  of  too  frequent  occur- 
rence, the  need  to  relieve  suffering  too  obvious,  to  permit  matters 
of  hygiene  and  sanitation  to  become  obscured. 

Much  as  one  may  rejoice  in  all  that  is  picturesque  in  the  manner 
of  life  and  in  the  independence  which  is  so  outstanding  a  trait  of 
mountain  character,  he  comes  to  feel  that  where  the  health,  at 
least,  of  the  people  is  affected,  these  must  give  place  to  or  be  trans- 
formed into  more  salutary,  albeit  less  interesting  virtues.  That  the 
changes  which  must  necessarily  accompany  a  movement  to  relieve 
suffering  are  far-reaching  he  soon  discovers.  At  times  they  involve 
the  loss  of  things  not  only  worthy  of  preservation,  but  in  and  of 
themselves  without  relation  to  the  health  problem  of  the  moun- 
tains. With  the  large  question  of  prevention  are  concerned  some 
of  the  most  familiar  and  characteristic  features  of  Highland  life. 

Even  the  log  cabin  of  the  pioneer,  symbolic  as  it  is  of  the  history 
of  our  country,  harmoniously  as  it  fits  into  the  mountain  landscape, 
is  destined  in  time  to  disappear  as  the  Highlander  improves  the 
conditions  of  his  living.  Not  only  is  the  log  cabin  home  becoming 
a  costly  luxury,  as  the  sawmill  gives  its  cheaper  substitute  of  box- 
house  or  the  more  commodious  frame  dwelling,  but  from  the  stand- 
point of  housing  it  has  its  deficiencies.  Hewn  with  a  narrow  axe 
on  two  sides,  the  logs  are  rough  and  warped.  The  pioneer  builder 
had  no  time  to  dry  his  timber,  nor  broad  axe  nor  adze  to  smooth 

193 


THE  SOUTHERN  HIGHLANDER 

it  off;  and  his  descendant,  can  he  afford  in  these  days  to  use  logs, 
builds  much  in  the  same  way  even  though  his  tools  be  more  modern. 
Green  timber,  it  is  true,  is  heavy  to  handle  but  it  is  easier  to  hew. 
Besides,  as  a  Highlander  remarked  with  characteristic  humor,  "  The 
young  folks  are  marrying  too  fast  to  wait  for  it  to  dry." 

Little  attention  is  given  to  exterior  or  interior  finish.  The  walls 
are  roughly  chinked  with  mud  and  clay,  which  hardening,  crumble 
out  onto  the  floor.  Often  they  are  pasted  over  with  newspapers, 
varied  wherever  possible  by  gaily  colored  prints  cut  from  flower 
catalogs  or  other  advertising  matter.  Such  luxuries  as  smooth 
floors,  closets,  and  shelves  are  almost  unknown  in  remote  sections. 
Lumber  is  hard  to  obtain  and  planers  are  few.  In  addition,  the 
Highlander  has  had  little  opportunity  to  become  a  skilled  workman. 
Some  men,  indeed,  are  building  better  houses,  and  where  dressed 
lumber  is  not  available  are  dressing  it  by  hand.  Very  many  homes, 
however,  are  still  close  to  pioneer  needs  and  far  from  standards  set 
by  sanitary  experts. 

One  sees  in  these  days  fewer  of  the  "typical"  windowless  one- 
room  cabins.  Windows,  although  often  they  do  not  open,  have 
been  inserted  even  in  the  older  buildings,  but  window  space  as  a 
rule  is  very  inadequate.  Light  and  air  are  furnished  during  the  day 
by  the  door  which  is  swung  hospitably  wide  throughout  winter  and 
summer.  At  night  the  door  is  closed,  and  the  chance  traveler 
through  the  darkness  can  mark  the  cabin  site  only  by  the  fitful 
glow  of  the  hearth-fire  through  the  window,  or  when  there  is  no 
window,  by  the  sparks  and  flames  which  spurt  upward  through  the 
low  chimney. 

The  open  log  cabin,  however,  through  whose  chinks  and  aper- 
tures air  circulates  more  or  less  freely,  is  more  conducive  to  health 
than  is  the  tighter  house  of  more  recent  times,  where  ventilation  can 
be  and  often  is,  especially  at  night,  reduced  to  a  minimum.  If  the 
fireplace  still  persists  in  the  latter  a  certain  amount  of  fresh  air  is 
provided,  but  if  the  stove  has  superseded  the  fireplace,  conditions  in 
this  regard  are  usually  much  worse. 

The  situation  is  aggravated  by  the  number  of  people  living  in 
the  home.  One  faces  in  the  Highlands  the  problem  of  congestion 
within  homes  rather  than  that  of  congested  neighborhoods.  It  may 
seem  strange  in  a  country  where  timber  and  land  are  plentiful  that 

196 


LIVING    CONDITIONS    AND    HEALTH 

houses  should  not  be  enlarged  to  meet  the  enlarging  family.  One 
does,  it  is  true,  pass  many  a  rambling  old  cabin  and  many  a  painted 
new  frame  house  with  the  little  outgrown  cabin  by  its  side;  but 
habit  is  strong,  and  even  when  the  necessity  for  crowding  has 
passed,  through  the  occupancy  of  a  larger  and  better  built  dwelling, 
previous  conditions  of  congestion  frequently  remain.  Large  fami- 
lies, many  times  surprisingly  large,  occupy  one  or  two  rooms.  There 
is  little  understanding,  even  in  those  households  which  are  scrupu- 
lously clean,  of  ordinary  hygienic  and  sanitary  precautions.  Old 
and  young,  sick  and  well,  sleep  together  and  use  in  common  the 
scanty  toilet  articles.  The  spread  of  contagious  and  infectious  dis- 
eases is  naturally  rapid. 

Nor  are  such  diseases  confined  to  the  home,  even  if  this  be  com- 
paratively isolated.  Neighbors  flock  to  the  afflicted  household  both 
to  give  help  and  because  they  feel  they  are  not  showing  a  proper 
interest  if  they  do  not  do  so.  Moreover,  waste  of  all  sorts,  though 
sometimes  burned,  is  more  often  thrown  out  and  scattered  about  by 
hogs  and  chickens,  or  finds  its  way  into  the  nearby  creek  or  branch 
to  be  carried  on  to  other  households  below. 

No  attempt  is  made  to  safeguard  drinking  water,  which  is  still, 
for  the  most  part,  from  springs  or  shallow  wells  which  run  dry  in 
time  of  drought.  Both  wells  and  springs  are  frequently  polluted 
through  seepage  from  nearby  barn  or  outhouse,  if  there  be  one. 
Outhouses  are  the  exception,  however.  Even  in  the  public  schools 
of  the  remoter  sections  they  are  almost  universally  lacking,  and  too 
many  of  the  schools  under  private  auspices,  which  should  set  an 
example  in  this  regard,  by  the  untidy  and  unsanitary  condition  of 
these  provisions  make  their  absence  almost  more  to  be  desired  than 
their  presence. 

How  general  is  the  lack  of  sanitary  provisions  in  the  rural  High- 
lands was  brought  to  public  notice  a  few  years  ago  by  the  findings 
of  the  survey  made  by  the  Rockefeller  Sanitary  Commission  for  the 
Eradication  of  Hookworm  Disease.  Nor  has  the  matter  been  dis- 
regarded by  health  authorities.  Some  of  the  remedies,  however, 
suggested  for  its  correction  have  been  pathetically  humorous.  In 
one  community,  distant  from  the  railroad  several  score  of  miles,  a 
state  sanitary  expert  held  forth  on  the  desirability  of  a  certain  kind 
of  septic  tank.    He  displayed  blueprints,  beautifully  drawn,  show- 

197 


-n/ 


THE  SOUTHERN  HIGHLANDER 

ing  just  how  these  tanks  were  to  be  made,  but  he  forgot  that  the 
bricks  had  to  be  hauled  nearly  fifty  miles  from  the  railroad  and 
that  the  minimum  cost  was  prohibitive  for  all  but  the  wealthiest 
mountain  families.  Lest  the  reader  regard  this  as  an  exceptional 
instance,  we  may  add  that  many  similar  cases  in  this  and  in  other 
phases  of  mountain  life  might  be  cited  where  the  advice  of  well- 
meaning  experts,  brought  in  to  stimulate  local  initiative,  has  served 
but  to  discourage  even  the  most  progressive  of  those  who  listened 
to  it. 

It  is  an  easy  matter  to  sit  in  a  steam-heated  city  office  and  hold 
forth  upon  the  deficiencies  in  mountain  households  and  to  suggest 
or  plan  remedies  for  them.  If,  however,  one  has  spent  some  winter 
days  in  a  mountain  home,  and,  sharing  its  labors  as  he  ought  in 
so  democratic  a  household,  has  helped  to  cut  wood  for  the  many 
fireplaces  and  "toted"  it  in,  he  can  more  easily  understand  why 
there  is  congestion  in  sleeping  quarters;  and  if  he  has  helped  to 
blast  a  well  through  resisting  strata  of  rock,  be  it  only  to  a  depth 
of  twenty-five  feet,  he  is  strongly  inclined  to  be  a  believer  in  the 
predestinarian  theory  of  disease,  whether  it  be  called  typhoid  or 
mountain  fever.  He  may  even  view  with  a  lenient  eye  certain 
shortcomings  in  cleanliness,  and,  if  he  helps  the  housewife  to  carry 
in  and  out  the  water  used,  he  reverts  fondly  in  thought  to  the  days 
of  his  childhood,  when  he  was  comfortable  in  mind  and  body  with 
a  Saturday  night  bath  by  the  kitchen  stove.  He  admits  that  he 
has  fallen,  but 

"  Facilis  descensus  Averno  .  .  .  ,  sed  revocare  gradum  .  .  .  , 
hoc  opus,  hie  labor  est." 

However  philosophic  the  visitor  may  be  as  to  matters  of  housing 
and  sanitation,  he  is  less  apt  to  be  indifferent  to  the  question  of 
food.  No  detail,  probably,  of  the  Highlander's  living  has  been 
more  severely  criticized  than  his  diet,  and  inasmuch  as  it  has  been 
held  responsible  for  many  of  his  ills,  it  is  perhaps  worth  while  at 
this  point  to  see  in  some  detail  what  food  is  eaten  in  the  ordinary 
rural  home  in  the  mountains. 

While  diet  varies  somewhat  in  different  sections,  the  staples 
through  most  of  the  rural  portion  of  the  mountains  are  corn  and 
pork.  The  reasons  for  this  are  simple.  Corn  can  be  grown  through- 
out the  Highlands  and  used  to  feed  both  family  and  stock;   and 

198 


LIVING   CONDITIONS    AND    HEALTH 

hogs  can  be  raised — at  least  until  recently  and  even  now  in  many 
places — with  little  trouble  or  expense  by  turning  them  loose  in  the 
forest  to  forage  for  themselves.  Corn,  moreover,  is  easily  stored 
and  ground  as  needed,  and  hog  meat  can  be  salted  or  cured  and 
the  fat  used  in  every  form  of  cooking. 

The  curing  of  meat  is  necessary  because  there  is  no  way  to  keep 
it  fresh.  Speaking  generally,  the  spring-house  is  the  only  means 
of  refrigeration  in  the  Highlands,  and  this  is  usually  confined  to 
the  more  prosperous  families.  It  is  customary,  when  a  cow  or 
sheep  is  to  be  killed,  for  the  owner  to  go  about  among  his  neighbors 
and  dispose  of  the  various  portions  before  proceeding  to  slaughter 
it.  The  use  of  beef  or  mutton,  however,  is  not  common  in  the  rural 
districts,  nor  is  the  meat  particularly  appetizing  when  served. 
There  is  little  pasturage,  and  animals  are  allowed  to  wander  about 
in  forlorn  search  of  such  vegetation  as  they  can  find.  In  certain 
sections  of  the  mountains  a  distinct  step  forward  has  been  taken 
by  putting  the  steep  slopes  into  grass  and  making  the  beginnings 
of  a  profitable  dairy  and  cheese  industry;  but  the  usual  mountain 
cow  has  a  lean  and  hungry  look.  Her  milk  is  poor  and  thin  and 
her  fiesh  tough  and  hard.  The  keeping  of  sheep  is  far  less  frequent 
than  in  early  days,  owing  to  the  pest  of  dogs.  A  few  are  kept  here 
and  there  for  the  wool,  but  with  the  advance  of  prices  in  wool  the 
flesh  is  too  valuable  for  ordinary  consumption.  Poultry  is  the 
only  meat  commonly  used  besides  pork,  and  this  is  less  common 
than  the  reports  of  fried  chicken  would  lead  one  to  expect.  Eggs 
are  comparatively  cheap  but  do  not  form  so  great  a  factor  in  the 
diet  as  they  should. 

Variety  is  occasionally  secured  for  the  table  by  the  addition  of 
rabbit,  squirrel,  or  'possum.  Reserves,  stocked  by  national  or 
private  enterprise,  are  tempting  to  the  poacher,  but  game  no  longer 
offers  an  inducement  for  settling  in  the  mountains.  Sawmills 
and  the  practices  of  seining,  harpooning,  and  dynamiting,  have 
played  havoc  with  the  fish  supply,  and  although  fishing  is  a  favorite 
diversion,  fish  as  an  article  of  diet  is  negligible. 

A  welcome  addition  to  the  spring  diet  is  furnished  by  "sallets" 
of  cress,  poke,  bear's  lettuce,  and  various  other  young  greens,  and 
every  family  has  its  fenced-in  garden  patch  which  helps  to  furnish 
the  summer  table.      Beans,  white  potatoes,  and  onions  are  the 

199 


THE  SOUTHERN  HIGHLANDER 

common  vegetables,  but  cabbages,  beets,  sweet  potatoes,  and 
turnips  are  also  raised,  with  a  few  cushaws,^  pumpkins,  and  melons. 
Tomatoes  are  becoming  more  common  every  year.  Sweet  corn  is 
seldom  found,  but  young  field  corn  is  often  eaten,  "roasting  ears" 
being  considered  a  great  delicacy. 

Usually  there  is  also  available  an  abundant  supply  of  wild 
blackberries,  and  in  places  wild  strawberries,  huckleberries,  and 
grapes.  Peaches  are  plentiful  is  some  sections,  and  apples  are 
found  more  or  less  freely  throughout  the  mountain  region.  Little 
or  nothing  is  done  in  the  way  of  spraying  or  pruning,  but  the  trees 
bear  abundantly  unless  caught  by  frost,  as  happens  every  few  years. 
The  covered  wagon  with  its  load  of  crimson  winesaps  or  big  green 
"horse  apples"  is  a  familiar  sight  in  many  a  mountain  metropolis, 
while  the  fame  of  the  Albemarle  pippin  has  reached  to  foreign 
shores. 

But  while  the  season's  crop  offers  possibilities  of  variety  for  the 
winter  diet,  it  does  not  affect  the  winter  diet  as  much  as  it  should. 
For  one  reason  the  Highlander  has  little  storage  space.  The  larger 
houses  have  lofts  or  plunder  rooms;  but  in  the  smaller  cabins 
reserve  food  must  be  strung  from  the  rafters  or  stacked  upon  the 
floor.  Outside  cellars  are  not  understood  or  used  to  any  great 
extent,  and  potatoes  and  other  root  crops,  of  which  there  may  be  a 
plentiful  supply  in  the  autumn,  seldom  last  through  the  winter. 

A  real  attempt  is  made  to  provide  a  winter  supply  of  vegetables 
and  fruit.  Beans  are  dried  in  the  pod,  together  with  onions,  pep- 
pers, and  savory  herbs,  and  pumpkins  are  sliced  and  dried  before 
the  fireplace  or  in  the  sun.  Apples  usually  are  spread  out  on  the 
roof  of  shed  or  cabin,  or  cured,  as  are  peaches,  with  the  fumes  of 
sulphur.  Among  the  more  prosperous  families  and  even  in  the 
poorer  homes,  especially  in  the  southern  part  of  the  mountains 
where  fruit  is  more  abundant  and  climatic  conditions  less  severe, 
much  is  done  in  the  preparing  of  jellies,  apple-butter,  and  pickles. 
Canning,  particularly  of  tomatoes,  is  becoming  more  common  in 
recent  times,  due  in  large  part  to  the  activity  of  canning  clubs 
fostered  by  government  and  private  agencies.  Where  peaches  and 
berries  are  put  up  it  is  often  simply  with  boiling  water,  sugar  being 
scarce  and  expensive. 

1 A  kind  of  squash. 
200 


Raising  a  house"— Rolling  a  Log  up  Over  the  Skids  into  Positiiin 


Crowd  Gathered  at  the  House-Raising  Above 


"  Bees  are  kept  very  commonly,  sections  of  the  gum-tree  serving  as  iiives. 


Beans  are  dried  in  the  pod."     Winter  Supply  of  Shucky  Beans 


LIVING   CONDITIONS   AND   HEALTH 

A  visit  to  a  pupil  of  the  writer  in  one  of  his  early  schools  found 
the  mother  baking  pies.  She  was  rolling  out  the  crust,  not  on  a 
molding  board  but  on  a  piece  of  cloth  spread  on  the  table,  her 
rolling-pin  being  a  round  bottle.  Having  no  sugar,  she  sweetened 
the  apples  with  a  little  sorghum  syrup,  and  for  want  of  cinnamon 
spiced  them  with  berries  gathered  in  the  woods,  dried  and  ground. 
When  ready,  the  pies  were  baked,  not  in  the  oven  but  on  the  stone 
hearth  before  the  fire.  All  mountain  housewives  are  by  no  means 
reduced  to  such  substitutes,  but  there  is  still  room  in  many  homes 
for  pioneer  ingenuity. 

Autumn  brings  the  making  of  sorghum  which,  with  honey,  sup- 
plies much  of  the  sweetening  used.     Bees  are  kept  very  commonly, 
sections  of  the  gum-tree  serving  as  hives.    A  good  deal  of  mountain 
honey  is  dark  in  color  and  strong,  but  sourwood  honey  is  famous  for 
its  light  color  and  delicate  acid  flavor.     Maple  sugar  is  found  only 
occasionally,  hard  maple  having  been  pretty  well  cut  out  of  large 
sections  of  the  mountains.     The  autumn  traveler  is  not  likely  to 
forget  the  pawpaws  and  persimmons,  nor  the  chestnuts,  walnuts, 
and  hickory  nuts  scattered  along  the  road  which  winds  up  the 
mountain  through  forests  of  gold  and  mahogany.     A  store  of  nuts 
is  frequently  gathered  by  the  household  and  put  away  for  winter  use. 
When,  however,  the  crop  is  finally  gathered  and  winter  closes 
in  the  family  diet  is  very  much  restricted.     It  is  probably  safe  to 
say  that  the  main  sustenance  of  many  a  rural  household  a  good 
share  of  the  winter  is  fat  pork,  beans,  potatoes,  and  cornbread, 
with  the  addition  of  sorghum  or  honey  and  strong  cheap  coffee. 
Soda  biscuit  of  wheat  flour,  and  "grits"  are  also  used  extensively 
among  families  in  better  circumstances.     "  Light-bread,"  or  raised 
white  bread,  is  very  unusual.^ 

Many  mountain  families  have  milk  through  the  entire  year,  but 
numbers  are  without  it  during  the  winter  and  sometimes  the  sum- 
mer as  well.  Where  there  is  milk,  butter  is  churned  every  day. 
Often  it  has  a  curious  white  flaky  appearance,  due  probably  to  the 
fact  that  the  tall  earthen  churn  is  left  to  stand  close  to  the  fire  where 
its  contents  become  scalded.     Little  is  known  of  working  the  butter 

1  In  one  locality  raised  white  bread  was  known  as  "  Presbyterian  bread  "  because 
baked  by  the  Presbyterians  for  Sunday  use,  no  cooking  being  allowed  on  the  Sab- 
bath. 

201 


THE  SOUTHERN  HIGHLANDER 

sufficiently  or  of  salting  it,  and  its  keeping  qualities  are  poor. 
Buttermilk  is  a  favorite  beverage,  referred  to  usually  as  "milk." 
If  the  guest  wishes  "sweet  milk"  he  must  so  designate  it. 

Food  is  usually  poorly  prepared.  Frying  and  boiling  are  the 
common  methods  of  preparation,  the  former  predominating  largely. 
Cornbread  and  biscuits,  of  course,  are  generally  baked,  although 
hoe-cake  may  be  cooked  in  a  skillet  on  top  of  the  stove  and  some- 
times by  the  hearth.  Starchy  foods  are  rarely  boiled  or  baked 
sufficiently,  but  whatever  is  fried,  is  fried  a  long  time,  large  quan- 
tities of  grease  being  used  both  in  preparing  and  serving. 

That  the  Highlander  is  not  immune  to  this  diet,  one  may  gather 
from  the  frequency  of  sallow  complexions  and  the  great  prevalence 
of  "risings" — a  comprehensive  term  which  may  apply  to  anything, 
from  a  minute  swelling  to  a  carbuncle.  The  mountaineer  himself 
is  frank  to  admit  that  he  suffers  from  "stomach  trouble,"  and 
while  he  frequently  makes  complaint  of  "heart  trouble"  one  is 
inclined  to  suspect  that  this,  too,  may  be  another  name  for  indi- 
gestion. 

It  would  seem  likely  that  to  the  limitations  of  diet  are  due  also 
some  of  the  inertia  and  even  apathy  that  are  evidenced  by  many. 
Tall  and  lean  the  Highlander  seems  to  have,  when  interested, 
plenty  of  endurance;  he  can  walk  long  distances  without  apparent 
fatigue,  and  he  is  indefatigable  on  a  hunting  or  camping  trip.  He 
often  appears,  nevertheless,  to  lack  energy  and  initiative  and  that 
he  succumbs  rather  quickly  to  disease  has  been  claimed  by  many, 
a  claim  corroborated  by  a  number  of  physicians  who  had  experi- 
ence with  mountain  soldiers  in  the  recent  war.  By  some,  however, 
the  indolence  of  the  mountaineer  is  laid  to  lack  of  purpose,  while 
others  attribute  it  to  hookworm. 

As  to  the  effect  of  restricted  diet  in  causing  pellagra,  which  is 
being  found  in  the  Highlands  today,  there  seems  to  be  little  doubt. ^ 
Unfortunately,  it  is  impossible  to  know  at  this  time  how  extensively 
the  mountain  people  suffer  from  this  disease,  but  physicians  of  the 
writer's  acquaintance  have  met,  they  say,  an  increasing  number  of 
such  cases  in  the  late  years  of  their  practice. 

^  Goldberger,  Joseph,  and  Wheeler,  G.  A.:  Experimental  Pellagra  in  the  Human 
Subject  brought  about  by  a  Restricted  Diet.  Reprint  No.  311  from  the  Public 
Health  Reports,  U.  S.  Public  Health  Service,  Washington,  Government,  1915. 

202 


LIVING   CONDITIONS   AND    HEALTH 

An  interesting  side-light  on  diet  in  the  mountains  is  furnished 
by  the  country  store.  Here  one  may  purchase  salt,  vinegar, 
molasses,  soda,  coffee,  sugar,  white  ffour,  and  usually  some  kind 
of  canned  goods — "salmons,"  tomatoes,  and  peaches.  Eggs,  too, 
are  quite  generally  found,  as  they  serve  as  a  medium  of  barter  in 
the  mountains.  Chicken  and  egg  men  make  regular  tours  of  some 
sections,  collecting  at  a  low  price  supplies  to  sell  in  urban  centers. 
Salt  pork  is  kept  occasionally  and  plain  crackers.  Often  there  is  a 
small  supply  of  cheap  candy.  Cooking  utensils  are  exceedingly 
scarce,  though  one  has  no  difficulty  in  procuring  saddles,  hame 
strings  (rawhide  thongs),  leggings,  cheap  shirts  (woolen  and  cotton), 
calico,  nails,  spurs,  gauntlet  gloves,  paper  tablets,  kerosene,  and 
usually  cheap  shoes  and  hats.  The  owner's  profit  would  seem 
sometimes  to  be  derived  largely  from  tobacco,  despite  the  fact  that 
the  Highlander  so  frequently  raises  his  own.  A  storekeeper  in  one 
community  asserted  that  he  bought  every  seventy  or  eighty  days 
;^200  worth  of  a  popular  kind  of  tobacco,  exclusiveof  all  other  brands. 

In  how  far  the  very  large  use  of  snuff  and  tobacco  in  the  moun- 
tains, mainly  in  dipping  and  chewing,  may  be  accounted  for  by 
the  monotony  of  the  diet  and  poor  cooking  it  is  difficult  to  say. 
The  need  of  stimulants,  seemingly  felt  by  many,  is  probably  due  at 
least  in  part  to  this  cause.  It  cannot  be  charged  against  the  High- 
land people  as  a  whole,  however,  that  they  drink  excessively. 

The  Highlander  has  been  used  in  the  past  to  brewing  his  own 
liquor  and  partaking  of  it  when  he  pleased.  Mr.  Combs,  to  whose 
Life  in  the  Kentucky  Mountains  from  a  Native  Mountaineer's 
Viewpoint  reference  has  been  made,  says: 

"A  great  many  of  the  mountaineers  drink  whiskey,  but  the 
per  cent  of  those  who  can '  take  a  dram'  and  stop  at  that,  is  large. 
It  is  thought  no  harm  to  drink  a  little — sometimes  more.  The 
story  is  told  of  a  man  in  Knott  County  who  '  turned  off'  a  whole 
quart  of  moonshine  before  taking  the  cup  from  his  head.  '  Won't 
you  have  more?'  he  was  asked.  '  Nope,  it  might  fly  to  my  head.' 
In  many  families  the  children  drink  whiskey  sweetened  with 
sugar." 

Unhappily,  in  these  days  of  highly  doctored  moonshine,  the  effects 
of  such  drinking  as  there  is  are  very  violent.     In  the  words  of  a 
mountain  friend,  "  It  drives  a  man  plumb  crazy." 
•  3  203 


THE  SOUTHERN  HIGHLANDER 

The  rural  Highlander  is  by  no  means  indifferent  to  the  many 
ills  which  are  resultant  upon  his  manner  of  living.  Forced  from 
early  times,  however,  to  face  almost  without  help  the  grim  cer- 
tainty of  suffering  and  death,  he  has  come  to  assume  toward  them 
the  only  attitude  which  makes  life  endurable  under  such  circum- 
stances— a  belief  that  they  are  ordained  and  therefore  to  be  borne 
with  what  display  of  stoicism  one  may  command.  "'Pears  like 
hit's  bound  to  go  plumb  through  a  family,"  said  a  mountain  girl 
wistfully  when  approached  as  to  treatment  for  tuberculosis,  from 
which  five  of  her  brothers  and  sisters  had  died.  In  her  mind  there 
was  no  help  for  her. 

There  is,  too,  in  the  attitude  of  many,  the  natural  conservatism 
and  the  suspicion  of  strangers  and  new  methods  which  are  char- 
acteristic of  all  isolated  peoples.  And  when  it  happens,  as  it  so 
often  does,  that  modern  theories  of  disease  interfere  with  the  abso- 
lute freedom  of  action  so  dear  to  the  mountain  heart,  it  is  to  be 
expected  that  they  will  be  viewed  with  scepticism,  if  not  with  actual 
hostility. 

Not  long  ago,  during  a  health  rally  held  within  a  few  miles  of 
one  of  the  larger  mountain  cities,  a  young  boy  appeared  well  broken 
out  with  smallpox.  When  protests  were  addressed  to  the  father, 
with  the  request  that  the  child  be  taken  where  he  could  not  spread 
the  contagion,  he  became  highly  indignant  and  declared  that  the 
boy  had  been  looking  forward  to  this  occasion  for  several  weeks, 
and  he  did  not  aim  now  to  have  him  disappointed. 

The  incident  recalled  to  the  writer  a  campaign  he  led  in  his 
earlier  years  to  have  the  stock  law  enforced  in  a  mountain  com- 
munity where  typhoid  was  epidemic.  "  Professor,"  returned  a 
prominent  citizen  when  appealed  to  on  the  materialistic  score  that 
hogs  running  loose  in  the  streets  were  a  menace  to  the  growth  of  the 
town  and  to  the  success  of  the  "college."  "The  hogs  were  here 
before  the  college.     If  you  don't  like  them,  move  the  college." 

The  indifference  to  the  rights  and  welfare  of  others  manifested 
in  the  cases  cited,  while  selfish  like  many  other  aspects  of  individu- 
aHsm,  was  not  intentionally  so.  The  mountaineer  does  not  really 
believe  that  disease  will  be  spread  through  such  causes,  and  he  does 
most  thoroughly  believe  that  no  one  has  a  right  to  interfere  with 

,  204 


LIVING   CONDITIONS   AND   HEALTH 

his  personal  liberty.      He  has,   moreover,  certain  time-honored 
remedies  of  his  own. 

All  dwellers  in  the  remote  Highlands  are  more  or  less  familiar 
with  the  use  of  teas  made  from  common  herbs  and  roots/  such  as 
boneset,  camomile,  sassafras,  and  pennyroyal;  and  turpentine 
taken  externally  and  internally,  alone  or  in  combination  with  vari- 
ous other  ingredients,  is  a  favorite  household  remedy.  The  prev- 
alence of  patent  medicine  advertisements  in  small  isolated  country 
stores  suggests  that,  in  places  at  least,  these  must  be  used  to  a  con- 
siderable degree.  There  is  not  a  little  faith  among  many  that  the 
performance  of  prescribed  rites  under  prescribed  conditions  will 
drive  away  certain  ailments.  There  is  in  a  neighborhood  gen- 
erally some  older  woman  who  is  recognized  as  peculiarly  gifted  in 
the  matter  of  charms. 

When  his  own  knowledge  and  the  offices  of  those  near  at  hand 
fail,  the  Highlander  goes  for  the  doctor,  if  there  be  one  within 
reach;  but  usually  it  is  not  until  the  patient  is  "dangerous" — so 
dangerous  often  that  the  efficacy  of  help  is  past.  His  delay  in 
seeking  medical  advice  is  due  in  large  part  to  the  great  scarcity  of 
physicians,  which  has  existed  from  early  days  in  the  Highlands, 
but  the  unreliable  character  of  some  of  the  native  doctors  and  the 
high  charges  made — 3' 5  to  ^25  a  visit  being  not  uncommon — have 
doubtless  been  discouraging  factors. 

Much  must  be  said  for  the  native  mountain  physician.  At  the 
best  it  is  a  hard  life,  riding  by  day  and  night  the  rough  trails  that 
lead  along  creek,  branch,  and  over  mountain  to  the  isolated  homes; 
and  there  is  little  reward  save  in  the  knowledge  of  duty  performed. 
The  oft  repeated  criticism,  "He  won't  come  unless  he  knows  he 
can  get  his  money,"  must  be  tempered  by  adding  that  his  field  is 
far  too  large  for  him  to  serve,  and  that  he  may  easily  spend  a  whole 
day  going  ten  to  fifteen  miles  and  back  to  see  one  patient. 

After  all  is  said,  however,  for  the  devoted  men  who  serve  their 
countryside  to  the  best  of  their  ability,  it  must  be  admitted  that 

^  A  list  of  teas  given  by  an  old  man  experienced  in  their  use  included  wild  cherry, 
black  cohosh,  black  and  white  walnut,  slippery  elm  (white  better  than  red),  Indian 
hemp,  bitter-sweet,  yellow  sarsaparilla,  pink-root,  yellow  dock,  boneset,  white 
horse-mint,  spignet,  pennyroyal,  Seneca  snake-root,  black  snake-root,  Samson's 
snake-root,  Indian  turnip,  ginseng,  yellow  lady's  slipper,  "lin"  (linden)  bark  and 
root,  Solomon's  seal,  and  lobelia. 

205 


THE  SOUTHERN  HIGHLANDER 

much  of  the  more  rural  Highland  region,  where  supplied  at  all 
with  physicians,  is  served  by  men  who  have  had  little  or  poor 
training,  sometimes  none  at  all.  Many  of  them  are  men  of  good 
sense,  who  even  with  their  limitations  are  useful;  with  proper 
leadership  and  co-operation  they  would  be  helpful  in  bettering 
conditions.  But  unfortunately  it  is  also  true  that  the  mountains 
have  proved  a  retreat  for  so-called  doctors  who  are  morally  and 
intellectually  unfit  to  minister  to  the  communities  which  they  are 
supposed  to  serve.  Some,  once  able  physicians  in  other  sections, 
have  been  forced  from  their  original  fields  of  service  through  addic- 
tion to  drugs  or  drink. 

The  effects  of  the  practice  of  such  men  on  the  suffering  people 
are  sometimes  pathetic  in  the  extreme.  Many  instances  might 
be  cited,  some  of  which  have  come  under  personal  observation,  of 
gross  ignorance  and  criminal  neglect  both  in  medical  and  surgical 
practice.  Strict  laws  for  the  granting  of  physicians'  licenses  and 
the  education  of  the  people  to  a  knowledge  of  what  real  medical 
aid  means,  are  gradually  reducing  the  influence  of  this  group;  but 
progress  cannot  be  rapid  as  long  as  there  is  such  a  large  deficit  in 
the  number  of  trained  physicians,  or  indeed,  of  physicians  of  any 
kind. 

To  recommend  an  increase  in  the  number  of  trained  physicians, 
however,  is  easier  than  to  determine  how  an  adequate  number  of 
such  men  can  be  supported  in  a  section  where  the  population  is  not 
only  poor  but  widely  scattered.  Doubtless  many  of  the  people 
can  pay  more  than  is  generally  supposed,  but  even  so,  the  well- 
trained  physician,  especially  if  he  have  a  dependent  family,  can 
scarcely  afford  to  settle  in  remote  regions,  however  altruistically 
inclined  he  may  be,  unless  his  living  be  partially  underwritten  by 
some  philanthropic  agency,  at  least  until  such  time  as  he  shall 
have  gained  the  confidence  and  co-operation  of  his  neighborhood 
or  unless  medical  aid  becomes  the  concern  of  the  state. 

in  a,  study  made  by  the  United  States  Children's  Bureau  in 
19 1 8,  the  following  conditions  were  found  to  exist  in  one  mountain 
county  in  North  Carolina.  That  they  are  duplicated  in  many 
other  counties  within  the  Highland  region  may  be  safely  assumed. 
Probably  they  are  far  worse  in  certain  areas: 

206 


LIVING   CONDITIONS   AND   HEALTH 

Facilities  for  the  care  and  treatment  of  sickness  are  strikingly 
lacking  in  this  county.  Only  five  physicians, — four  at  the 
county  seat  and  one  in  a  village  where  a  normal  school  is  located 
— over-burdened  almost  to  the  breaking  point,  are  the  depend- 
ence for  medical  service  of  a  population  of  13,718.  This  is  an 
average  of  2,744  persons  to  a  physician,  which  is  over  four  times 
as  many  as  the  average  (691)  for  the  United  States.  The  con- 
centration of  physicians  at  the  county  seat  is  to  be  expected, 
for  social  and  financial  reasons;  but,  because  of  rough  roads, 
at  times  almost  impassable,  and  an  absence  of  telephone  com- 
munication, also  because  of  the  prohibitive  expense  of  a  day's 
trip  from  physician  to  patient,  the  greater  part  of  the  country 
is  practically  cut  off  from  medical  service.  There  is  no  physician 
resident  in  either  of  the  three  townships  of  the  survey,  and  the 
families  live  from  3  to  25  miles  from  the  nearest  doctor. 

The  county  has  no  hospital,  the  nearest  being  located  at  the 
county  seat  of  the  adjacent  county,  reached  once  a  day  by  mail 
stage  across  the  roughest  of  mountain  roads.  No  trained  nurses 
are  resident  in  the  county,  and  patients  are  entirely  dependent 
upon  the  well-meaning  but  untrained  services  of  neighbors  and 
relatives.^ 

How  serious  has  been  the  effect  of  all  these  conditions  upon  the 
mortality  rate  of  the  Highlands  is  not  easy  to  determine  with  accu- 
racy. Until  recent  years  a  large  part  of  the  mountain  region  has 
not  been  included  within  the  United  States  registration  area  for 
births  and  deaths.  The  first  of  the  mountain  states  to  be  included 
in  their  entirety  in  the  United  States  registration  area  for  deaths 
were  Maryland  and  Kentucky,  admitted  in  1906  and  1911  respec- 
tively. Virginia  followed  in  191 3,  North  Carolina  and  South 
Carolina  in  1916,  and  Tennessee  in  1917.  Alabama,  West  Virginia, 
and  Georgia^  are  still  without  the  area.  Only  five  of  these  states — 
Maryland,  Kentucky,  North  Carolina.  Tennessee,  and  Virginia — 
were  included  in  the  registration  area  for  births  in  1917. 

Even  now  registration  cannot  be  said  to  operate  altogether  satis- 
factorily in  the  remote  mountain  sections  of  those  states  included 
within  the  registration  area.  State  officials  are  earnestly  endeavor- 
ing to  remedy  this  condition  and  great  progress  has  been  made, 

1  Bradley,  Frances  Sage,  and  Williamson,  Margaretta  A.:  Rural  Children  in 
Selected  Counties  of  North  Carolina,  pp.  67-68.  U.  S.  Department  of  L.abor, 
Children's  Bureau,  Publication  No.  33,  Washington,  D.  C,  1918. 

2  At  the  time  of  writing  there  were  indications  that  Georgia  would  soon  be  ad- 
mitted. 

207 


THE  SOUTHERN  HIGHLANDER 

but  the  collection  of  vital  statistics  under  conditions  prevailing  in 
the  mountain  country  is  at  best  very  difficult.  In  how  far  the 
data  returned  indicate  true  health  conditions  in  the  mountains 
it  is  unsafe  to  hazard  an  estimate,  but  it  would  not  be  surprising 
were  they  to  indicate  a  lower  death  rate  than  is  actually  the  fact. 
In  any  case  the  obstacles  in  the  way  of  the  accurate  reporting  of 
vital  statistics  should  be  taken  into  account  in  considering  them. 

Table  9  shows  the  death  rates  for  the  mountain  region  of  six 
states  in  1916,  the  latest  year  for  which  data  for  all  were  available. 
The  construction  of  the  table  has  been  attended  by  many  difficul- 
ties. As  in  the  case  of  areas  and  population  it  has  been  necessary 
to  base  the  computations  on  county  figures,  and  as  these  were  not 
always  published,  recourse  was  had  both  to  federal  and  to  state 
officials,  who  kindly  furnished  manuscript  data  when  printed 
reports  proved  inadequate.  Where  there  has  been  disagreement 
between  figures  furnished  by  state  boards  of  health  and  the  Census 
Bureau,  the  figures  of  the  latter  have  been  used.  The  lack  of 
uniformity  in  listing  diseases  in  the  different  states  has  also  been 
a  source  of  confusion. 

The  table  shows  death  rates  for  the  rural  population,  but  they 
are  computed  on  the  basis  of  an  urban  minimum  of  cities  of  10,000 
inhabitants — that  used  by  the  Census  Bureau  in  computing  mor- 
tality statistics.  They  therefore  apply,  as  in  the  case  of  the 
homicide  rates  in  Chapter  VI,  to  about  90  per  cent  of  the  popula- 
tion instead  of  to  the  approximately  three-quarters  of  the  popula- 
tion with  which  we  are  especially  concerned  in  this  study.  The 
comparison  of  the  rates  for  the  three  mountain  belts,  on  this  ac- 
count, will  reflect  such  differences  as  are  induced  by  the  more 
urban  character  of  the  Valley,  as  well  as  the  possible  differences 
resulting  from  topographic  and  climatic  peculiarities  in  the  three 
belts. 

When  one  considers  this  table  in  the  light  of  the  many  obstacles 
in  the  way  of  good  health  in  the  Highlands,  one  cannot  but  be 
struck  with  the  fact  that,  so  far  as  these  data  show,  the  death  rate 
for  rural  portions  of  the  mountain  region,  1 1.2  per  1,000,  is  nearly 
2  per  1,000  less  than  that  for  the  rural  portion  of  the  entire  United 
States  registration  area.  In  all  of  the  six  states  the  mountain 
sections,  except  the  small  upland  region  of  Maryland,  compare 

208 


LIVING    CONDITIONS    AND    HEALTH 


1) 
-a 

c 

C 

Per  i,ooo 
living 
births 

"f  00     •  -"i-    ■ 

ITN    O 

-00     • 

rr\  Tj-  UN 

C^  rA  r^    ■ 
t^  O   "> 

f*-.  -^  i'-^     o 
t^  0^  1^    •   t^    ■ 

O 

O. 

q 

O 

8  c 

q.o 

8  .^ 

—    3 

1-    O. 
i)    o 

c_  a. 

CO  r^    ■  <s 

d  iA 

d  '^  lA    • 

(S    (N    — 

<N    (N    (S           — 

fS 

G^ 

IN 

C 

.2 

3 
D. 

g. 
O 

o 

o 

d 
o 

k- 

(U 

D. 

Vl 

J= 
r! 

Q 

kt\  rr^  O^ 

r^  d  lA 

N    0^  ON  M 

(4 

t~-»  d  "^o6  —  "^ 

i/^ 

rr.  (^  (N 

00 

00 

fS      i^    iTN    liN 

rr^  —   N   M 

6^ 

C^  ^  Cv  0^  ^'^  ^'^ 

rr-. 
00 

l/^ 

rA 

00 

IS 

On  O    O  O  \0 
—            —    —    (S 

q 

d 

^q  -^  u->  r-^ 

6 

v£3    0^  O   C\  Tt  (N 

die  TJ-  d  00  lA 

d 

d 

-: 

r3  ^,,^ 

Ie 
£3 

r^  rA  d  d  ri 

oq 

Hi 

<s  t^oo  -^ 

d  r^  i/N  «^ 

OO    C\  t^  O 

■rt- 

00 

M  r>.  (s  o  \q  <N 

O    (S    ro  O    ir\  r*^ 

CO  -  X  o  r^  o 

X 

O. 

rr' 

rr\ 

3  =  ^~, 
O     P3     1/5 

|.¥^ 

3  !5  c 

r--  o  o  —  <N 

O  'O    Tf 

ITS 

rooo   O   O 

-^00    -    - 
rs    t^  (S    - 

r^ 

rr\  OO    O^i  ^'^  ''^ 

(N  r^  o  o  -^  M 

■        ■<f 

vq 

Deaths  per 
I, ooo  popu- 
lation. All 
causes 

CTi  O    ■*  O    — 
•^  -   ^2   -   r\ 

l/^ 

o  q  - 

ri 

0\  —    r^    rr- 

d 

q^  irs  q  Tj-  --  q\ 

C^  ro  —    —    —    — 

(N 

as 

IN 

q 

c 
o 
ci 

Blue  Ridge  Belt 
Maryland 
North  Carolina 
South  Carolina 
Tennessee 
Virginia 

r3 

,o 

Greater  .Appalachian  Valley 
Maryland 
Tennessee 
Virginia 

r3 

Alleghany-Cumberland  Belt 
Kentucky 
Maryland 
Tennessee 
Virginia 

_o 

Total  mountain  region 
Kentucky 
Maryland 
North  Carolina 
South  Carolina 
Tennessee 
Virginia 

C 

Rural  portion  of  United  States 
registration  area 

c 
_o 

2 
t« 
'5b 

k. 
P3 

-a 

u 
c 

^« 

209 


THE  SOUTHERN  HIGHLANDER 

favorably  with  the  United  States  rural  registration  area.  Specific 
death  rates  for  the  mountain  area,  except  in  the  case  of  typhoid 
fever,  also  compare  favorably  with  United  States  rates.  The 
natural  conclusion  would  seem  to  be,  therefore,  even  allowing  for 
the  possible  incompleteness  of  statistics,  that  the  Highland  stock 
is  not  less  resistant  to  disease  than  is  other  rural  stock,  despite 
impressions  to  the  contrary. 

One  would  have  a  fairer  basis  for  conclusions  as  to  the  strength 
of  Highland  blood  were  it  possible  to  eliminate  from  these  rates 
the  effect  of  Negro  deaths.  Data  are  available  in  the  case  of  North 
Carolina  to  indicate  the  effect  of  the  Negro  rate.  The  following 
table  has  been  constructed  in  order  to  show  the  comparison  between 
colored  and  white  death  rates  in  the  Highlands  and  Lowlands  of 
this  state. 


TABLE    10. — WHITE   AND    NEGRO    DEATH    RATES 
TION    FOR    RURAL    NORTH    CAROLINA 

PER    1,000 
1916 

POPUL.A- 

White 

Negro 

Total 

Mountain  region 
Non-mountain  region 

10.6 

I  1.2 

16.5 
15.8 

I  i.o 
12.9 

Total 

I  I.I 

15.9 

12.6 

That  the  Negro  death  rate  would  be  much  higher  than  the  white 
rate  was  to  be  expected,  as  well  as  that  it  would  be  higher  in  High- 
lands than  in  Lowlands.  It  is  to  be  noted,  however,  that  although 
this  rate  is  high,  it  raises  the  total  Highland  rate  very  slightly 
owing  to  the  small  number  of  Negroes  in  the  mountains,  its  effect 
is  less  in  the  mountains  than  in  the  non-mountain  portion  of  the 
state. 

In  case  of  tuberculosis  especially  it  would  be  interesting  to  know 
what  part  Negro  deaths  play  in  the  high  rate  found  in  the  moun- 
tains. This  rate,  129.3  per  100,000,  is  slightly  higher  than  the  rate 
for  the  rural  portion  of  the  registration  area.  The  death  rate  for 
tuberculosis  is  especially  high  in  the  Greater  Appalachian  Valley 
of  Virginia  and  Tennessee.  This  is  a  fact  for  which  the  more  gen- 
erally urban  character  of  the  Valley  may  be  responsible.  The 
total  urban  and  rural  death  rate  from  tuberculosis  for  the  entire 

210 


LIVING   CONDITIONS    AND   HEALTH 

registration  area,  however,  is  only  141. 6  per  100,000  as  against 
166.4  for  the  Tennessee  Valley,  and  144.1  for  the  Valley  of  Virginia. 
it  would  seem  possible,  therefore,  that  the  high  rates  in  these  sec- 
tions may  be  due  at  least  in  part  to  the  larger  number  of  Negroes 
there  who  it  is  well  known  are  peculiarly  susceptible  to  this  disease. 

On  the  whole  it  would  seem  that  tuberculosis  is  more  widespread 
in  the  Allegheny-Cumberland  than  in  the  Blue  Ridge  region.  This 
bears  out  our  own  observations  and  the  observations  of  physicians, 
that  this  disease  is  much  more  common  in  the  narrow  fog-hung 
valleys  of  the  Kentucky  mountains,  where  the  greatest  congestion 
of  population  is  found,  than  in  the  higher  and  less  densely  populated 
areas  of  the  Carolinas. 

Throughout  the  mountain  area  indications  point  to  a  high  mor- 
tality from  diseases  of  the  respiratory  tract  in  general.  The  fact 
that  children  walk  long  distances  to  school,  one  to  three  miles,  with- 
out adequate  protection  in  stormy  weather  and  remain  all  day  with- 
out facilities  for  drying  themselves,  suggests  one  reason  for  such 
affections.  Men,  too,  are  accustomed  to  walk  many  miles  under  all 
sorts  of  conditions,  to  and  fro  from  the  "public  works,"  as  railroad, 
logging,  and  similar  operations  are  called.  The  death  rate  from 
pneumonia,  as  shown  in  the  table  is,  however,  in  every  instance  save 
in  that  of  the  Blue  Ridge  of  Maryland,  materially  lower  than  that 
for  the  total  or  the  rural  portion  of  the  United  States  registration 
area. 

It  may  be  surprising  to  many  to  know  that  measles  are  responsi- 
ble for  a  large  number  of  deaths  in  the  Highlands,  a  result  probably 
of  exposure  during  convalescence.  Although  the  rate  given  in  the 
table  for  the  entire  mountain  region,  10.5  per  100,000,  is  but  slightly 
higher  than  that  for  the  entire  rural  area,  one  questions,  after  many 
years  of  experience  in  the  Highlands,  whether  it  indicates  the  ex- 
tent of  mortality  which  has  its  inception  in  this  cause.  In  this  dis- 
ease as  in  others  a  better  basis  for  judgment  would  be  had  were 
there  data  available  for  a  number  of  previous  years,  and  were  the 
causes  of  death  as  returned  more  accurately  determined. 

The  single  case  in  which  the  mountain  death  rate  is  conspicuously 
higher  than  the  rate  for  the  entire  country  is  that  of  typhoid. 
The  rate  from  this  disease  in  the  mountains  is  28.3  per  100.000  as 
against  15.6  for  the  rural  portion  of  the  United  States  registration 

21 1 


THE  SOUTHERN  HIGHLANDER 

area.  It  has  been  suggested  that  typhoid  fever,  tuberculosis,  and 
numerous  other  communicable  diseases,  notably  hookworm,  were 
brought  into  the  mountains  by  soldiers  returning  at  the  close  of  the 
Civil  War,^  and  that  wells,  springs,  and  soil  were  well  infected  at 
that  time.  It  is,  of  course,  true  that  in  pioneer  days,  when  homes 
were  few  and  scattered,  the  effects  of  stream  and  soil  pollution  were 
not  widely  felt,  but  in  the  latter  half  of  the  nineteenth  century 
there  was  a  considerable  population  in  the  Highlands.  The  theory 
that  communicable  diseases  began  to  spread  rapidly  from  the 
close  of  the  war  is  therefore  tenable.  In  any  case  the  high  rate 
from  typhoid  cannot  be  a  matter  of  surprise  when  one  realizes  that 
the  disease  is  endemic  in  the  mountains,  that  no  sanitary  measures 
are  known  for  preventing  infection  of  streams  and  drinking  water, 
and  that  summer  brings  myriads  of  flies  which  swarm  about  unpro- 
tected food.  It  is  especially  prevalent  in  the  autumn  when  springs 
and  wells  are  low,  sometimes  as  many  as  seven  or  eight  in  a  family 
being  stricken  at  one  time. 

Other  communicable  diseases  affecting  the  mortality  rate  of  the 
mountains  more  or  less  seriously,  but  for  which  data  were  not  se- 
cured, are  diphtheria,  scarlet  fever,  and  smallpox.  The  first  is  per- 
haps the  malady  most  dreaded  by  the  mountaineer,  who  considers 
it  practically  fatal.  Scarlet  fever,  too,  is  greatly  feared.  Smallpox, 
however,  while  present  every  year  in  some  areas,  is  so  little  feared 
that  mountain  mothers  have  been  known  to  expose  their  babies 
deliberately  in  order  that  the  malady  might  be  taken  early  in  life 
when  its  effects  would  be  less  marked.  The  isolation  of  the  country 
does  not,  unhappily,  prevent  the  inroads  of  such  epidemics  as  in- 
fantile paralysis  and  influenza,  which  make  their  appearance  in  the 
most  remote  homes. 

Another  cause  markedly  affecting  the  death  rate  is  the  lack  of 
care  afforded  women  in  childbirth.  The  rate  for  causes  of  this 
nature  have  been  entered  in  Table  9.  The  mountain  death  rate 
from  causes  attendant  on  childbirth  is  not  high,  12.7  per  100,000, 
as  compared  with  that  of  1 5.  i  for  the  rural  registration  area.  While 
the  rate  for  South  Carolina,  18.8,  should  be  considered  in  connection 
with  the  cotton-mill  development  and  the  larger  Negro  population 

^  It  was  claimed  in  one  remote  mountain  section  that  syphilis  was  first  introduced 
there  at  the  close  of  the  Civil  War. 

212 


LIVING   CONDITIONS    AND   HEALTH 

of  the  Piedmont  strip  which  it  has  been  necessary  to  include  with 
the  mountain  belt,  in  general  the  rates  of  the  different  states  and 
belts  vary  too  markedly  to  permit  of  conjecture  as  to  possible 
factors.  It  seems  especially  probable  that  low  death  rates  for  puer- 
peral causes  may  be  due  to  failure  to  report  properly  causes  of  death. 

The  more  prosperous  and  accessible  families  are  coming  to  de- 
mand the  services  of  a  physician  and  nurse,  where  these  may  be 
secured,  but  a  large  proportion  of  the  remoter  families — just  how 
large  is  of  course  impossible  to  say  without  a  detailed  study,  county 
by  county — still  depend  upon  the  midwife'  or  such  help  as  can  be 
secured  from  neighbors.  Few  of  the  midwives  have  any  knowledge 
of  infection  and  the  means  to  prevent  it;  comparatively  few  hold 
licenses  from  the  state  boards  of  health.  Methods  employed  are 
primitive  in  the  extreme,  and  include  little  or  no  pre-natal  or  post- 
natal care.  Even  when  a  physician  of  the  better  class  is  employed, 
he  seldom  sees  the  mother  except  at  the  time  of  birth ;  and  when  an 
untrained  "doctor"  is  in  attendance,  both  mother  and  child  may 
be  sacrificed  by  the  brutal  ignorance  of  his  practices. 

To  failure  to  report  deaths  fully  is  probably  due  the  low  rate  for 
infant  mortality  shown  for  the  mountain  region.  It  has  been  pos- 
sible to  obtain  data  on  which  to  compute  these  rates  for  only  four 
states,  Kentucky,  Maryland,  North  Carolina,  and  Tennessee.  Of 
these  only  Maryland  was  included  in  the  United  States  registration 
area  for  births  in  19 16,  and  rates  for  the  others  are  therefore  based 
on  data  obtained  directly  from  state  sources. 

Table  9  shows  the  infant  death  rates  both  per  100,000  population 
and  per  1,000  living  births.  In  the  case  of  the  latter,  except  for 
Maryland,  the  rates  obtained  for  the  mountain  region  are  dis- 
tinctly lower  than  that  for  the  United  States  as  a  whole.  This  rate 
for  Maryland,  97.4,  is  practically  the  same  as  that  for  the  rural 
portion  of  the  registration  area  and  is  less  than  the  urban  and  rural 
rate  for  the  United  States. 

The  infant  death  rates  in  terms  of  population,  however,  do  not 
compare  so  well  with  corresponding  rates  for  the  entire  country. 
Only  Tennessee,  with  185.7  infant  deaths  per  100,000  population, 

^  "Over  half  the  mothers  were  attended  in  confinement  by  a  neighborhood  mid- 
wife."—  Bradley,  Frances  Sage,  and  Williamson,  Margaretta  A.:  Rural  children 
in  Selected  Counties  of  North  Carolina,  p.  95.  U.  S.  Department  of  Labor,  Chil- 
dren's Bureau,  Publication  No.  33,  Washington,  D.  C,  1918. 

213 


THE  SOUTHERN  HIGHLANDER 

has  a  better  rate  than  that  for  the  rural  United  States.  The  rates 
found  for  Kentucky,  Maryland,  and  North  Carolina  are  distinctly 
higher.  In  fact  deaths  of  infants  under  one  year  of  age  appear  to 
constitute  from  one-fourth  to  one-fifth  of  the  total  number  of 
deaths  in  these  three  states,  while  for  the  entire  United  States  they 
are  about  one-sixth  of  the  total  number.  That  the  mountain  re- 
gion compares  poorly  with  the  rest  of  the  country  when  infant 
deaths  are  compared  with  total  population,  but  well  when  they  are 
compared  with  the  number  of  births,  means  only  that  the  birth 
rate  is  high. 

In  the  study  of  one  mountain  county  of  North  Carolina,^  to 
which  reference  has  been  made,  a  county  in  which  the  rate  showed 
a  loss  of  one  out  of  every  thirteen  children  born,  it  was  found  that 
prematurity  here,  as  often  elsewhere,  was  the  most  important  cause 
of  infant  loss,  and  that  nearly  half  of  the  infant  deaths  had  occurred 
within  the  first  two  weeks.  Similar  findings  would  probably  result 
from  a  study  of  many  of  our  distinctively  Highland  counties. 

Indiscriminate  feeding  is  another  prominent  cause  of  infant  loss. 
While  breast  feeding  is  practically  universal,  almost  from  the  begin- 
ning the  baby  is  also  given  a  taste  of  all  that  the  family  table  af- 
fords. Consequently  digestive  disorders  are  frequent;  probably 
they  constitute  one  of  the  highest  causes  of  mortality  among  young 
children.  By  some  it  is  claimed  that  the  common  practice  of  per- 
mitting little  children  to  sit  and  crawl  about  upon  damp  ground  and 
cold  draughty  floors  results  in  a  higher  rate  of  mortality  among 
those  old  enough  to  move  about  than  among  infants  in  arms. 

It  may  be  added  here  that  it  seems  to  be  the  verdict  of  those  ac- 
quainted with  Highland  conditions  that  the  mountain  baby  is  phys- 
ically well  born.  Whatever  the  ills  that  afflict  the  older  child,  they 
are  largely  of  a  preventable  nature.  Social  diseases  are  found,  but 
the  experience  of  some  doctors  points  toward  their  greater  preva- 
lence near  urban  centers,  or  where  large  logging,  sawmill,  and  other 
industrial  enterprises  are  in  operation.  Physicians  who  have  had 
charge  of  mountain  schools  say  that  the  boys  are  unusually  free 
from  infections  of  this  nature.  One  finds,  however,  in  the  moun- 
tains practically  all  that  one  finds  elsewhere.  It  is  not  diseases 
that  are  lacking  but  the  means  of  combating  them. 

Hbid. 
214 


LIVING    CONDITIONS    AND    HEALTH 

While  specific  data  are  wanting  on  many  aspects  of  the  health 
problem  in  the  mountains,  an  opportunity  to  observe  some  of  the 
effects  of  existing  conditions  upon  the  rural  child  and  thus  in- 
directly upon  the  general  health,  is  offered  in  the  various  boarding 
schools  maintained  throughout  this  region  by  church  and  inde- 
pendent agencies.  Naturally  a  large  number  of  the  pupils  who  come 
from  little  isolated  homes  show  many  evidences  of  the  want  of  ordi- 
nary care  of  the  person.  Not  only  are  they  often  in  need  of  a  thor- 
ough cleaning  up,  but  not  infrequently  are  suffering  from  neglected 
sores  and  skin  diseases  of  various  kinds. 

The  teeth,  too,  usually  need  attention,  the  only  attention  indeed 
commonly  given  them  in  very  rural  districts  being  to  pull  them 
out  when  they  ache.  In  past  days  this  was  accomplished  by  means 
of  crude  home-made  "tooth-pullers"  wielded  by  some  man  who 
had  obtained  a  reputation  for  skill  along  this  and  other  "surgical" 
lines.  As  a  result,  the  Highlander  has  been  frequently  deprived  at 
an  early  age  of  these  very  necessary  assistants  to  his  digestion,  or, 
if  they  remain,  it  is  in  such  condition  as  to  subject  him  to  the  results 
of  dental  infection.  A  first  preparation  made  by  one  outside  physi- 
cian before  he  entered  a  mountain  field  was  the  purchase  of  forceps, 
and  several  lessons  in  their  use.  He  declares  that  he  has  pulled 
teeth  indoors  and  out,  on  the  porch  and  in  the  middle  of  the  road, 
on  foot  and  on  horseback,  and  that  no  new  place  for  this  operation 
is  now  likely  to  surprise  or  disturb  him. 

Another  common  condition  found  among  school  children  is  "sore 
eyes,"  or  what,  in  its  most  serious  form,  has  proved  to  be  trachoma. 
That  this  dangerous  eye  affection  should  exist  so  commonly  among 
native  Americans,  isolated  almost  entirely  from  foreign  infection, 
came  as  a  great  surprise  to  health  authorities.  So  many  indeed 
were  the  cases  of  trachoma  reported  in  a  clinic  held  at  one  of  the 
independent  schools  of  the  mountains,  as  to  lead  to  an  investiga- 
tion by  the  United  States  Public  Health  Service  and  the  establish- 
ment in  191 3  by  this  service  in  co-operation  with  the  state  boards  of 
health  of  a  number  of  trachoma  hospitals,  first  in  Kentucky  and 
later  in  infected  districts  of  other  states.  The  heaviest  infection 
was  found  to  be  where  the  states  of  Kentucky,  Virginia,  West  Vir- 
ginia, and  Tennessee  are  adjacent,  and  in  this  region,  at  Pikeville, 
Kentucky,  a  hospital  is  still  maintained. 

215 


THE  SOUTHERN  HIGHLANDER 

Dr.  John  McMullen,  who  has  charge  of  the  trachoma  work  of 
the  United  States  Pubhc  Health  Service,  thus  writes  in  the  Southern 
Medical  Journal: 

A  survey  made  by  the  Service  in  23  counties  in  eastern  Ken- 
tucky, showed  that  1,280  out  of  a  total  of  18,000  people  exam- 
ined, were  suflfering  from  trachoma,  that  is,  about  7  per  cent  of 
the  total  number  examined  had  trachoma.  Of  the  number  ex- 
amined, in  the  survey,  16,696  were  school  children.  The  type 
of  the  disease  found  was  severe  and  its  mutilating  effects  are 
seen  everywhere.  It  would  be  difficult  to  appreciate  the  suffering 
and  disastrous  effects  of  the  disease  in  Appalachian  America 
without  actually  seeing  these  cases  and  witnessing  the  pathetic 
sights  they  present.  It  is  here  that  most  of  the  cases  have  gone 
without  proper  aid,  and  many  without  any  at  all.^ 

To  no  disease  found  in  the  Highlands,  however,  has  greater  pub- 
licity been  given  than  to  hookworm.  One  hears  at  times  from  en- 
thusiasts that  if  the  Highlander  could  only  be  rid  of  hookworm  his 
ills  would  disappei^r.  He  would  have  the  vigorous,  energetic  phy- 
sique naturally  expected  in  one  so  near  to  pioneer  ancestors,  and  so 
would  acquire  without  further  assistance  all  the  accompaniments 
of  better  living. 

That  hookworm  infection  is  widespread  throughout  the  moun- 
tains the  investigations  of  the  Rockefeller  Sanitary  Commission 
have  demonstrated  beyond  question.  It  would  be  easy  to  cite 
many  instances  observed  in  schools  where  severe  cases  of  hookworm 
infection,  when  treated,  have  shown  such  marked  improvement  as 
to  establish  this  cause  as  a  prominent  one  affecting  the  mental  as 
well  as  the  physical  condition  of  the  mountain  child.  But  while 
it  would  indeed  be  interesting  to  know  whether  Highland  life  would 
be  transformed  by  the  elimination  of  this  disease,  the  variation  in 
the  percentage  of  infection^  shown  by  groups  examined  in  selected 
counties,  and  the  many  possible  explanations  for  the  variation  would 
seem  to  suggest  that  blame  for  some  of  the  existing  conditions  can- 

^  McMullen,  John:  "Trachoma:  a  Disease  of  Equal  Importance  to  the  Ophthal- 
mologist and  Public  Health  Officer  and  what  the  Government  is  Doing  to  Eradicate 
and  Prevent  its  Further  Spread,"  pp.  130-135.  Southern  Medical  Journal,  Febru- 
ary, 1917. 

2  See  Reports  of  the  Rockefeller  Sanitary  Commission  for  the  Eradication  of 
Hookworm  Disease,  1912,  1913,  1914- 

216 


LIVING   CONDITIONS    AND   HEALTH 

not  be  laid  to  hookworm  alone.  More  definite  conclusions  must 
await  fuller  data. 

As  suggested  in  a  previous  part  of  this  chapter,  many  conditions 
existing  in  the  mountain  child  are  probably  due  in  part  to  a  poorly 
balanced  diet.  A  large  number  of  the  children  are  insufficiently 
nourished,  and  it  is  not  uncommon  for  some  to  gain  within  a  com- 
paratively few  months  twenty  or  more  pounds  under  the  better 
prepared  and  more  regularly  served  meals  of  a  school. 

Marked  changes  for  the  better  have  also  been  effected  by  the 
removal  of  adenoids  and  diseased  tonsils.  The  story  of  such  a  case 
was  recently  brought  to  the  writer's  attention.  A  pupil  in  one  of 
the  mountain  schools  had  been  so  backward  in  his  work  as  to  be 
considered  by  some  of  the  teachers  mentally  deficient.  So  far  was 
this  from  being  the  fact  that  after  the  removal  of  adenoids  and 
tonsils  he  proved  to  be  one  of  the  keenest  pupils  of  the  school.  Un- 
fortunately, he  developed  at  the  same  time  such  a  propensity  for 
mischief  that  his  distracted  teacher  earnestly  inquired  if  there  was 
no  way  by  which  the  adenoids  and  tonsils  could  be  returned. 

There  are,  of  course,  deficient  children  in  the  mountains,  al- 
though one  sees  comparatively  few  in  the  schools.  When  data  are 
entirely  lacking  upon  deficiency  and  mental  disorders  of  any  kind, 
it  is  idle  to  hazard  a  statement  as  to  their  extent.  One  meets  occa- 
sional cases;  and  there  are,  far  removed  from  the  ordinary  routes 
of  travel,  certain  limited  neighborhoods  containing  what  is  appar- 
ently a  high  percentage  of  defectives.  Little  is  being  done  for  these 
neighborhoods  by  schools  or  other  beneficent  agencies.  Philan- 
thropy too  often  seeks  out  their  more  promising  individuals  as  fu- 
ture leaders,  leaving  the  less  promising  [to  multiply  because  of  iso- 
lation and  inadequate  state  and  county  provision  for  their  care.  An 
effort  is  often  made  to  provide  temporarily  for  some  of  the  more 
desperate  cases  in  the  county  jails,  but  the  average  county  jail  is 
not  a  remedial  institution,  and  conditions  in  many  are  deplorable. 

The  court  house,  with  its  annex  the  jail,  is  usually  the  most 
prominent  public  building  in  the  rural  county-seat  of  the  moun- 
tains. In  the  newer  buildings  there  are  decided  improvements. 
Riding  into  a  county-seat  forty  miles  from  a  railroad  at  the  end  of 
a  warm  day,  and  inquiring  if  there  might  be  a  hotel  where  he  could 
secure  a  bath,  a  travel-worn  horseman  received  the  reply  that  the 

217 


THE  SOUTHERN  HIGHLANDER 

only  bathtub  in  the  county-seat  was  in  the  new  county  jail.  The 
only  person  therefore  privileged  by  reason  of  his  confinement  to 
enjoy  a  bath,  was  a  lone  prisoner  from  Boston,  in  fairness  to  Bos- 
ton it  must,  however,  be  said  that  the  prisoner  was  originally  from 
the  mountains  of  this  section,  but  having  shot  a  man  "accidental" 
he  fled  north  to  lose  himself  in  that  distant  metropolis.  Unfor- 
tunately for  him  he  became,  like  most  exiled  mountain  dwellers, 
homesick  for  his  native  mountains.  Returning,  he  was  appre- 
hended, and  was  awaiting  the  decision  of  the  jury  as  to  the  degree 
of  chance  in  the  accident. 

In  some  of  the  mountain  states  public  attention  is  being  chal- 
lenged by  a  number  of  able  and  determined  Southern  women,  who 
are  seeking  to  put  an  end  to  the  indiscriminate  herding  not  only  of 
criminals  but  of  defectives,  and  sometimes  of  insane  and  epileptic 
of  both  sexes,  in  county  jails  and  county  homes. 

It  must  not  be  inferred  that  state  health  officials  and  others  in 
authority  are  unmindful  of  the  need  of  public  care  for  defectives, 
nor  that  the  more  thoughtful  citizens  of  these  localities  ignore 
them.  There  is  a  ready  response  to  appeals  to  personal  benevo- 
lence; but  here,  as  is  so  often  the  case  in  rural  sections  elsewhere, 
public  opinion  needs  to  be  awakened  to  a  recognition  of  public 
responsibility.  The  need  of  help  is  naturally  greatest  in  weak 
counties  for  which  some  of  the  states  are  now  seeking  to  provide 
more  adequate  educational  funds.  Taxation  is,  however,  a  buga- 
boo in  well-to-do  rural  communities,  as  well  as  a  burden  in  those 
that  are  not,  and  will  continue  to  be  so  until  life  is  placed  on  a 
sounder  economic  basis. 

To  many  who  have  endeavored  to  provide  in  past  years  the  edu- 
cational opportunities  lacking  in  so  many  remote  mountain  sec- 
tions, the  evident  need  of  help  in  matters  of  health  has  become 
more  and  more  prominent,  until  it  often  seems  the  most  pressing  of 
mountain  questions.  Where  public  funds  were  non-existent  it  was 
useless  to  apply  for  aid  to  state  or  county  officials,  and  little  could 
be  expected  from  the  people  themselves,  who  were  not  only  poor 
but  unfamiliar  with  possibilities  and  methods  of  relief.  It  was  nec- 
essary, therefore,  for  the  various  agencies  at  work  to  meet  the  local 
situation  as  best  they  could.  A  number  of  church  and  independent 
schools  have  for  some  years  employed  nurses,  who  not  only  super- 

218 


LIVING   CONDITIONS    AND   HEALTH 

intend  the  health  of  the  school  children  but  endeavor  to  serve  as 
much  of  the  neighborhood  as  possible.  One  of  these  nurses,  early 
recognizing  that  the  need  of  education  in  health  matters  was  quite 
as  great  as  the  need  of  relief,  held  health  classes  not  only  for  the 
children  of  the  school  but  for  the  mothers  of  the  neighborhood. 
She  attended  when  she  could  mothers  in  confinement,  with  the  co- 
operation of  the  local  physician.  Limited  as  such  a  single  effort 
must  needs  be,  in  a  number  of  years  it  succeeded  in  revolutionizing 
many  conditions  in  the  little  community  in  which  the  school  was 
situated.  Another  nurse  who  has  been  particularly  helpful  is  a 
graduate  of  a  nursing  school  which  lays  especial  emphasis  on 
obstetrics  and  midwifery.  Her  situation  in  a  community  far  from 
the  services  of  a  physician  makes  her  aid  invaluable,  and  her  pres- 
ence, in  fact,  is  cordially  welcomed  by  the  nearest  physician,  who  is 
greatly  overburdened  with  the  extent  of  his  territory. 

In  several  schools,  patients  requiring  special  attention,  particu- 
larly eye,  ear,  and  nose  cases,  have  been  gathered  together  once  or 
twice  a  year  for  clinics  administered  by  public-spirited  specialists 
and  nurses  from  urban  centers.  During  one  short  clinic  at  a  school 
in  eastern  Kentucky  which  has  been  foremost  in  this  work,  there 
were  lo  major  and  608  minor  operations. 

A  number  of  the  private  schools  in  the  mountains  maintain  small 
and  very  simple  hospitals  where  clinic  patients  may  be  cared  for 
and  emergency  cases  brought.  Ordinarily,  these  hospitals  are  used 
simply  for  the  pupils  and  are  in  charge  of  the  school  nurse.  Private 
aid  has  also  been  found  to  send  individual  cases  to  cities  for  treat- 
ment, in  one  state  the  railroads  co-operating  by  furnishing  trans- 
portation. In  other  places  physicians  have  been  sent  in,  supported 
entirely  or  in  part  for  a  number  of  years  by  church  or  other  philan- 
thropic agencies.  Their  relation  to  the  native  doctors,  whose 
income  is  threatened  by  their  presence,  is  sometimes  perplexing, 
especially  if  the  local  doctor  be  of  an  inferior  type.  Tact  and  a 
kindly  spirit  will  usually,  however,  solve  such  problems,  and  when 
the  people  have  once  profited  by  the  benefits  of  trained  help,  they 
are  not  willing  to  do  without  it. 

In  a  few  places  well-equipped  hospitals  have  been  established 
with  resident  ph>sicians  and  nurses.    The  possibilities  of  these  as 
centers  of  influence,  medical  and  co-operative,  is  illustrated  by  one 
16  219 


THE  SOUTHERN  HIGHLANDER 

built  and  equipped  by  a  church  board,  which  has  a  resident  physi- 
cian and  two  nurses  working  in  co-operation  with  a  Red  Cross  pub- 
lic health  nurse  supported  by  the  same  board.  Recently,  with  the 
assistance  of  the  State  Board  of  Health,  an  adenoid  and  tonsil 
clinic  was  held  here  for  children  of  the  whole  county.  Two  nurses 
from  the  health  department  of  the  state,  together  with  the  Red  Cross 
public  health  nurse,  gathered  up  the  cases,  which  were  operated 
upon  by  a  specialist  and  assistant  from  the  nearest  urban  center, 
assisted  by  the  local  doctor  and  by  leading  physicians  of  surround- 
ing counties. 

The  great  benefit  of  all  these  various  independent  and  unrelated 
efforts  can  be  appreciated  only  by  those  who  have  known  conditions 
as  they  were,  and  who  actually  see,  day  by  day,  the  need  and  suffer- 
ing of  isolated  families  and  communities  which  have  little  or 
nothing  in  the  way  of  help.  But  great  as  has  been  their  effect,  they 
might  be  duplicated  many  times  without  appreciably  affecting  the 
health  problem  as  a  whole.  The  success  and  continuance  of  these 
efforts  depend,  moreover,  largely  upon  the  personality  and  exertion 
of  individual  mountain  workers  who  have  gained  the  confidence  of 
their  boards  or  of  the  giving  public.  In  addition,  the  suffering  in 
the  mountains  has  been  so  intense  that  effort  for  the  most  part  has 
been  directed  to  its  immediate  alleviation  rather  than  to  preventive 
measures.  The  need  of  this  kind  of  work  is  not  less  today,  but  it 
should  be  accompanied  by  a  widespread  educational  movement  for 
public  health.  As  long  as  the  congested  home  conditions  of  the 
Highlands  persist,  and  as  long  as  there  is  such  general  ignorance  of 
hygienic  and  sanitary  measures,  it  is  useless  to  hope  for  permanent 
improvement  in  the  health  situation. 

In  the  arousing  of  interest  for  better  public  health,  the  campaigns 
of  the  Rockefeller  Sanitary  Commission  against  hookworm  in  the 
South  have  been  of  inestimable  value.  One  of  the  direct  outcomes 
has  been  the  establishment  of  county  health  organizations  with  full- 
time  health  officers  in  North  Carolina,  the  first  Southern  state  to 
meet  its  rural  health  problems  by  organization  on  a  county  basis. 
While  such  county  organizations  in  this  state  are  as  yet  limited  in 
number,  in  places  in  the  Highlands  the  creation  of  a  county  health 
unit,  financed  by  state,  county,  and  the  United  States  Public 
Health  Service,  is  already  a  possibility.    Such  a  unit  would  consist 

220 


LIVING   CONDITIONS    AND    HEALTH 

of  a  full-time  county  health  officer  and  a  public  health  nursing  corps 
working  under  a  county  board  of  health.  Recent  state  campaigns 
with  wide  publicity  as  to  causes  of  disease — especially  hookworm, 
pellagra,  and  typhoid — and  the  free  injection  of  typhoid  vaccine, 
have  done  much  to  prepare  the  way  for  as  well  as  to  dispel  preju- 
dice concerning  vaccination  and  inoculation. 

Through  large  rural  areas  of  the  Highlands,  however,  state, 
county,  or  local  forces  will  for  a  long  time  be  unable  to  minister 
adequately  to  health  needs.  The  hope  for  such  areas  would  seem 
for  some  years  to  lie,  therefore,  not  in  isolated  efforts  valuable  as 
these  are  locally  and  individually,  but  in  a  public  health  service, 
national  in  scope,  working  so  far  as  possible  in  co-operation  with 
local  and  state  agencies. 

The  activities  open  to  such  a  service  are  many.  Prominent 
among  its  features  would  be  a  nursing  corps.  The  proposed  exten- 
sion of  the  Red  Cross  Public  Health  Nursing  Service  naturally  sug- 
gests itself  in  this  connection,  and  a  beginning  is  further  indicated 
by  the  presence  in  the  Highlands  of  a  few  Red  Cross  nurses  of  this 
Service,  who  are  working  in  conjunction  with  and  through  the 
support  of  denominational  and  independent  boards  or  under  mining 
corporations.  More  support  of  this  sort  can  undoubtedly  be  fur- 
nished, and  in  some  places  where  there  are  local  Red  Cross  Chap- 
ters, or  sufficient  local  interest  to  organize  chapters,  further  support 
may  be  secured.  It  may  even  be  possible  to  make  a  beginning 
toward  health  centers,  as  recently  outlined  by  Red  Cross  officials 
in  post-war  activities  possible  for  the  Red  Cross.  The  influence  of 
returned  soldiers  would  doubtless  make  this  feasible  in  certain 
localities  where  it  would  otherwise  have  been  delayed  for  many 
years.  Often,  however,  where  the  need  is  greatest,  there  is  no 
local  agency  nor  immediate  prospect  of  one  able  to  furnish  support, 
and  no  public  consciousness  of  the  need,  in  such  sections  a 
"pioneer  nursing  corps"  could  revolutionize  existing  conditions,  if 
maintained  by  some  private  organization  until  such  time  as  support 
could  be  assumed  in  whole  or  in  part  by  local,  county,  or  state 
agencies. 

Objection  will  probably  be  made  that  a  rural  nursing  corps  of 
this  sort  will  be  almost  as  difficult  to  secure  as  an  adequate  number 
of  physicians.    It  is  not  our  purpose  here  to  indicate  what  national 

221 


THE  SOUTHERN  HIGHLANDER 

agency  should  undertake  this  work;  nor  can  we  enter  into  the 
vexed  question  of  the  small  training  hospital  as  a  source  of  supply. 
We  would,  however,  urge  the  possibility  of  nursing  centers  in  the 
Highlands,  in  charge  of  nurses  who  are  qualified  by  education  and 
training  and  by  experience  in  rural  mountain  needs  to  superintend 
and  direct  the  activities  of  nurses  less  well  equipped.  To  such  cen- 
ters might  also  be  sent  nurses  who  wished  to  go  into  rural  service 
for  the  practical  rural  part  of  their  public  health  training,  or  even 
medical  students  for  a  knowledge  of  rural  sanitation  and  health. 

While  it  is  perhaps  unnecessary  to  outline  the  work  of  such  a 
nursing  service,  we  cannot  refrain  from  calling  attention  to  the 
wide  opportunities  open  to  public  health  nurses  not  only  through 
the  homes  but  in  the  little  rural  public  schools  of  the  moun- 
tains, and  through  health  talks  given  in  remote  districts.  One  pub- 
lic health  nurse  in  the  remote  Highlands  has  already  outlined  a 
program  whereby  she  will  devote  a  part  of  her  summer  months  to 
short  stays  of  perhaps  a  week  at  a  number  of  very  isolated  com- 
munities. A  course  of  lectures  on  various  health  topics  has  been 
planned  with  especial  reference  to  the  care  of  babies  and  instruc- 
tion of  midwives.  To  vary  the  monotony  of  such  a  program  she 
purposes  to  take  with  her  at  different  times  people  who  will  be  able 
to  give  demonstrations  in  domestic  science,  or  canning,  gymnastics, 
or  recreational  features  of  one  kind  or  another.  During  the  year  she 
will  keep  in  touch  with  such  communities  and  gather  up  the  cases 
that  need  attention  for  the  nearest  doctor  or  clinic. 

The  work  of  the  Public  Health  Service  suggested  would  not,  of 
course,  be  confined  to  a  nursing  corps.  Working  always  with  state 
authorities  as  far  as  possible,  it  would  be  ready  to  send  into  local- 
ities which  asked  for  help  specialists  who  would  study  the  health 
situation  and  outline  a  program  which  the  central  organization 
would  be  prepared  to  further  by  lectures,  slides,  and  propaganda 
of  one  sort  and  another.  In  places  a  trained  dietitian  and  home 
economics  worker  might  do  an  invaluable  service,  especially  with 
children.  It  is,  indeed,  impossible  in  so  brief  a  study  as  this  to  more 
than  suggest  a  few  of  the  many  lines  of  activity  open  to  a  service 
of  this  kind. 

That  many  of  the  local  physicians  would  welcome  such  a  service 
has  been  amply  evidenced.    Moreover,  experience  in  certain  loca!- 

222 


LIVING   CONDITIONS    AND    HEALTH 


ities  has  shown  how  easily  local  rural  physicians  may  be  brought 
not  only  to  co-operate  with  nurses  but  to  practice  under  the  direc- 
tion of  the  best  medical  authorities  of  the  state.  Throughout  our 
investigations  we  have  found  national  and  state  officials  and  ex- 
perts both  sympathetic  and  eager  to  assist,  if  only  connection 
could  be  established  and  the  way  opened.  The  president  of  the 
state  board  of  health  in  one  of  the  Southern  Appalachian  states, 
recognizing  the  weight  of  Biblical  texts  in  the  mountains  and  the 
influence  of  the  native  preachers,  called  upon  some  of  the  pastors 
and  physicians  of  the  state  to  help  him  outline  sermons  on  health 
topics,  based  upon  suitable  texts.  These  were  to  be  sent  into  moun- 
tain and  other  rural  communities  with  personal  letters  urging  pas- 
tors to  preach  sermons  on  health  topics,  and  to  set  aside  certain 
Sabbaths  in  the  year  when  subjects  of  a  like  nature  were  to  be  dis- 
cussed, it  is  through  the  insight  of  men  such  as  this  health  officer, 
that  plans  will  be  worked  out  that  will  result  in  benefit  to  the 
mountain  people. 

Several  years  ago  the  writer  had  the  pleasure  and  privilege  of 
traveling  through  the  Kentucky  mountains  with  the  executive 
secretary  of  the  National  Society  for  the  Study  and  Prevention  of 
Tuberculosis.  Arrangements  were  made  in  advance  for  con- 
ferences with  physicians,  teachers,  county  superintendents  of  edu- 
cation, and  others  of  influence.  At  one  county-seat  court  was  in 
session,  and  upon  the  request  of  the  people  the  judge  courteously 
gave  an  hour  of  the  afternoon  session  for  a  lecture  on  "Tubercu- 
losis and  its  Prevention."  The  prisoner  as  well  as  most  of  the  male 
inhabitants  of  the  county-seat  and  others  from  outlying  com- 
munities, had  the  benefit  of  the  lecture.  As  a  result  some  of  those 
whose  families  were  afflicted  came  to  the  lecturer  for  advice,  and  in 
one  instance  treatment  was  begun  with  marked  benefit  under  the 
direction  of  the  school  nurse.  A  few  such  practical  demonstrations 
of  benefit  received  quickly  educate  a  community.  Good  results 
have  followed  upon  this  expedition  in  all  schools  and  communities 
visited. 

The  experiences  of  this  trip  reveal  the  possibility  of  utilizing  for 
health  instruction  those  periods  during  which  the  people  are  gath- 
ered together  for  one  purpose  or  another.  Court  week,  for  exam- 
ple, is  a  notable  week  in  the  mountains.    At  such  times  the  county- 

223 


THE  SOUTHERN  HIGHLANDER 

seat  is  filled  with  men  from  all  parts  of  the  county.  They  come  even 
when  they  have  no  direct  interest  in  a  case,  drawn  by  the  oppor- 
tunity to  meet  friends,  transact  business,  and  listen  to  discussions 
on  topics  of  interest. 

The  county  teachers'  institutes  held  in  the  early  summer  are 
occasions  when  most  of  the  county  teachers  meet  for  a  one  or  two 
days'  session.  These  institutes  have  a  social  as  well  as  an  educa- 
tional side  in  which  others  than  teachers  are  interested. 

In  late  July  and  in  August,  depending  somewhat  upon  the  region 
and  season,  is  "laying-by  time,"  a  period  of  respite  from  farming 
after  the  crop  has  been  worked  over  sufficiently  to  warrant  leaving 
it  until  the  fall  labor  preliminary  to  "gathering  time."  This  is  an 
interval  of  leisure  in  which  people  come  together,  especially  for 
"camp  meetings"  and  "protracted  meetings." 

If  during  court  week,  at  teachers'  institutes,  and  at  the  various 
large  gatherings  of  laying-by  time,  lectures  could  be  given  on  gen- 
eral health  topics  and  upon  such  diseases  as  tuberculosis,  typhoid 
fever,  and  hookworm,  their  causes,  prevention,  and  cure,  with  suit- 
able illustrations  and  exhibits  practical  for  the  mountains,  much 
might  be  done  to  lessen  the  ravages  of  these  diseases  and  to  improve 
the  general  health  situation.  The  striking  posters  used  in  cities, 
illustrating  the  ways  and  dangers  of  contagion  and  infection,  would 
have  effect  in  the  mountains  if  placed  along  the  lines  of  travel,  espe- 
cially after  campaigns  for  health  have  been  carried  on  in  some  such 
way  as  suggested. 

The  specialists  who  come  upon  request  and  remain  only  tem- 
porarily would  encourage  the  better  type  of  mountain  physician, 
and  the  poorer  type  would  be  forced  into  improved  methods,  or  be 
gradually  excluded  from  practice  when  the  people  see  the  improve- 
ment in  cases  formerly  held  as  hopeless.  The  need  for  county  or- 
ganizations of  physicians  and  for  registration  of  births,  deaths,  and 
diseases  would  be  made  apparent  and  be  likely  to  follow  such 
co-operation. 

Another  opportunity  to  advance  the  cause  of  health  is  offered 
by  the  county  fair.  Prizes  for  the  largest  variety  of  vegetables 
raised,  and  for  the  best  exhibition  of  canned  goods,  jellies,  and 
light-bread,  would  tend  to  a  larger  and  better  diet  as  well  as  to 

224 


LIVING   CONDITIONS    AND   HEALTH 

better  farming.    Baby  shows  in  connection  witii  some  of  these  fairs 
have  already  proved  their  value. 

The  stimulus  given  by  lectures,  exhibits,  and  similar  methods, 
however,  may  die  out.  Patient  teaching  through  wise  educational 
measures  is  the  only  remedy.  It  must  awaken  the  altruistic  co- 
operative spirit,  rather  than  the  self-centered  spirit  which  has  too 
generally  characterized  the  education  of  the  past, — an  education 
which  gives  to  the  relatively  few  so-called  "advantages"  and  leaves 
the  many  poor  in  condition  and  resources. 


225 


CHAPTER  XI 

RESOURCES  OF  THE  MOUNTAIN  COUNTRY 
AND  THEIR  DEVELOPMENT 

TO  ONE  attempting  to  summarize  the  assets  of  the  moun- 
tain country,  there  is  suggested,  first  of  all,  the  human  asset 
as  represented  in  its  children.  However  widely  opinions 
may  differ  as  to  the  extent  of  the  material  resources  of  the  moun- 
tains and  the  possibility  of  their  development,  there  cannot  fail  to 
be  unanimity  of  opinion  as  to  the  wealth  of  children.  To  some, 
doubtless,  they  will  seem  an  embarrassment  of  riches,  for  even  the 
most  destitute  homes  abound  in  them.  The  psalmist's  song,  "chil- 
dren are  an  heritage  of  the  Lord,"  and  "as  arrows  in  the  hand  of  a 
mighty  man,"  and  "happy  is  the  man  that  hath  his  quiver  full  of 
them,"  ^  touches  a  responsive  chord  in  the  heart  of  the  mountaineer. 
The  assumed  higher  criticism  of  decadent  cliques  in  modern  society, 
rich  in  material  things  but  willingly  paupers  in  paternity,  has  not 
yet  reached  him  to  make  him  sceptical  of  the  olden  belief  that  it  is 
right  to  increase  that  his  seed  may  possess  the  land.  It  is  easy  to 
argue  that  he,  like  the  poor  man  elsewhere,  would  be  richer  with 
fewer  children;  it  is  easy,  too,  to  charge  him  with  unworthy 
motives,  but  despite  imputation  and  argument— did  he  hear  them 
— he  would  seem  to  regard  children  as  a  greater  blessing  and  a 
surer  stay  in  old  age  than  the  treasures  that  moth  and  rust  may 
corrupt  and  thieves  break  through  and  steal. 

Scriptural  as  to  size  of  family,  the  mountaineer  has  followed  all 
too  literally  another  Bible  injunction — to  take  no  thought  for  the 
morrow.  In  the  past  the  rifle,  hoe,  axe,  and  loom,  supplying  his 
simple  needs,  have  kept  him  from  anxious  thought  for  food,  shelter, 
and  raiment.  The  traits  of  the  pioneer,  still  largely  his,  have  fos- 
tered hospitality,  generosity,  and  wastefulness,  and  today  it  is  a 
question  in  the  minds  of  many  whether  his  misinterpretation  as  to 
forethought  in  material  affairs,  and  his  orthodoxy  as  to  the  increase 

1  Psalms  CXXVI  I. 
226 


Courtesy  of  the  U.  S.  Forest  Service 

Steep  Forest-Covered  Slope  of  Hawksbill  Mountain,  seen  across  the  Gorge  of  Lin\ille  River  trom 

the  ClilTs  of  IJnville  Mountain,  North  Carolina 


RESOURCES   OF   THE    MOUNTAIN    COUNTRY 

of  his  kind,  have  not  brought  his  children  to  a  point  where,  by  the 
force  of  circumstances  that  might  have  been  prevented,  they  are 
to  be  dispossessed  of  the  land  of  their  fathers  and  driven  among 
strangers. 

He  who  travels  day  by  day  through  regions  where  seemingly  all 
level  and  fair-lying  land,  however  small  the  tract,  is  occupied  and 
sees  the  ragged  clearings  extending  far  up  the  steep  slopes,  cannot 
but  wonder  as  to  the  future  of  the  many  children  who  watch  him 
pass.  Whether  there  is  enough  in  the  mountains  to  maintain  its 
population  is  a  fair  question  that  thinking  people  are  beginning  to 
ask.  Already  it  is  a  subject  of  debate  as  to  whether  in  a  certain 
number  of  areas  the  population  is  not  greater  than  can  be  sus- 
tained by  the  resources  of  these  areas.  Some  even  have  advocated 
the  removal  of  the  whole  mountain  population  to  more  promising 
regions  because  the  resources  in  the  mountains  will  never  be  sufficient 
for  adequate  support.  How  easy  it  would  be  to  carry  out  such  a  plan 
is  suggested  by  the  comment  of  a  woman  who,  having  dwelt  for 
three-quarters  of  a  century  in  one  of  the  most  beautiful  and  remote 
parts  of  the  Southern  Highlands,  amid  clear  streams  and  tall 
forests,  was  taken  for  a  pleasure  trip  to  the  nearest  city.  Looking 
out  upon  the  stark  sordidness  of  a  new  industrial  development,  she 
exclaimed  with  the  fervor  of  conviction:  "  1  would  rather  be  a  knot 
on  a  log  in  Laurel  than  live  in  that  place." 

Leaving  out  of  the  discussion  the  practicability  of  moving  a 
mountain  population  deeply  attached  to  its  environment,  the  ques- 
tion is  not  whether  all  the  mountain  people  should  be  moved  from 
the  mountains  or  all  forced  to  remain.  A  certain  proportion  will 
always  go;  it  is  right  that  they  should,  and  they  are  needed  in  our 
urban  civilization.  Many,  however,  will  wish  to  stay  if  a  fair 
living  is  possible  for  them  and  their  children.  The  chief  question 
here  is  whether  the  resources  of  the  Highlands  are  such  as  to  fur- 
nish suitable  and  sufficient  returns  for  such  of  the  present  and 
future  population  as  wish  to  remain. 

An  inquiry  as  to  the  support  of  population  raises  many  questions, 
but  in  any  consideration  of  the  resources  of  the  Highlands,  the 
great  variety  of  the  country,  so  often  called  to  mind,  must  play  a 
prominent  part.  The  three  regional  belts  into  which  the  mountain 
section  is  divided  have  in  themselves  certain  differences  which  are 

227 


THE  SOUTHERN  HIGHLANDER 

already  showing  in  their  hfe,  and  are  destined  to  have  a  marked 
effect  upon  their  future  development.  Moreover,  local  areas  within 
the  belts  differ  greatly,  and  the  character  and  development  even 
of  certain  resources  which  are  common  to  all  areas  and  belts  are 
strongly  affected  by  different  topographic  and  climatic  conditions. 
Speaking  generally,  the  Greater  Appalachian  Valley  is  pre-emi- 
nently suited  to  agriculture,  and  its  accessibility  has  made  it  the 
seat  of  many  cities ;  the  western,  or  Allegheny-Cumberland  Belt 
is  a  coal  belt — part  of  the  greatest  coal  field  in  the  country;  and 
the  eastern,  or  Blue  Ridge  Belt,  while  possessing  some  mineral 
wealth,  is  famous  for  the  magnificence  of  its  forests  and  for  its 
water  power. 

Forests 

It  is  of  the  forests  perhaps  that  the  majority  of  people  think  first 
in  any  inquiry  into  the  natural  resources  of  the  Southern  High- 
lands. The  forests  of  the  Highlands  are  part  of  that  great  hard- 
wood area  which  extends  throughout  our  territory  and  on  to  the 
north  into  the  mountain  and  hill  region  of  Pennsylvania,  New 
York,  and  New  England.  Although  spruce  and  pine  are  common, 
and  there  are  in  the  southern  stretches  along  the  edges  of  the 
Piedmont  Plateau  in  Georgia  scattered  colonies  of  long-leaf  pine, 
the  field  is  on  the  whole  a  region  of  hardwoods,  of  which  it  furnishes 
the  largest  and  most  valuable  supply  left  in  the  United  States. 

Abused  and  neglected  by  the  Highlander,  desecrated  and  ruined 
in  many  sections  by  the  operations  of  logging  companies,  the 
remnants  of  these  magnificent  forests  still  sweep  over  the  crests  of 
the  mountains  in  indescribable  beauty.  Their  great  variety  is  at 
no  time  more  apparent  than  in  spring,  when  the  varied  greens  of 
the  many  oaks  and  hickories  are  contrasted  with  the  red  fruit  of 
the  maples,  the  yellow  tassels  of  the  chestnuts,  and  the  myriad 
bloom  of  the  towering  tulip  poplar — the  whole  shot  through  with  a 
lower  tracery  of  dogwood  blossom  and  fringed  with  a  border  of  red- 
bud.  But  not  even  the  glory  of  the  autumn  which  covers  the  slopes 
with  a  glowing  mass  of  color  for  mile  on  mile  as  far  as  the  eye  can 
reach,  can  surpass  the  winter  beauty  of  these  great  trees  in  all 
the  silvery  majesty  of  their  naked  outline,  the  delicate  net- 
work of  their  upper  branches  melting  into  a  haze  which  is  but  a 
part  of  the  blue  veil  that  ever  hangs  above  the  Highlands. 

228 


RESOURCES   OF   THE   MOUNTAIN    COUNTRY 

The  eminent  botanist,  Professor  Gray,  is  quoted  as  saying  that 
in  a  thirty-mile  trip  through  western  North  Carolina,  he  encoun- 
tered a  greater  variety  of  indigenous  trees  than  could  be  observed 
in  a  trip  from  Turkey  through  Europe  to  England,  or  from  the 
north  Atlantic  coast  to  the  Rocky  Mountain  Plateau. 

An  idea  of  the  great  variety  of  the  mountain  forests  may  be 
better  obtained  from  the  following  paragraphs,  taken  from  a  report 
of  the  Secretary  of  Agriculture  in  relation  to  the  forests,  rivers,  and 
mountains  of  the  Southern  Appalachian  region: 

At  the  eastern  foot  of  the  Blue  Ridge,  in  North  Carolina,  the 
typical  flora  of  the  Piedmont  Plateau  abounds,  and  follows  up 
the  river  gorges  into  the  mountain  valleys,  where  it  associates 
with  more  characteristically  Appalachian  species.  Thence  up 
to  the  tops  of  the  higher  peaks  there  is  a  constant  succession  of 
changes — an  intermingling  and  overlapping  of  the  lower  species 
with  those  which  belong  to  greater  elevations  or  more  northern 
latitudes. 

Thus,  in  ascending  any  of  the  higher  mountains,  as  Mount 
Mitchell,  which,  with  its  elevation  of  6,71 1  feet,  is  the  loftiest  of 
them  all,  one  may  penetrate,  in  the  rich  and  fertile  coves  about 
its  base,  a  forest  of  oaks,  hickories,  maples,  chestnuts,  and  tulip 
poplars,  some  of  them  large  enough  to  be  suggestive  of  the  giant 
trees  on  the  Pacific  Coast.  Higher  up  one  rides  through  forests 
of  great  hemlocks,  chestnut  oaks,  beeches,  and  birches,  and 
higher  yet  through  groves  of  spruce  and  balsam.  Covering  the 
soil  between  these  trees  is  a  spongy  mass  of  humus  sometimes  a 
foot  and  more  in  thickness,  and  over  this  in  turn  a  luxuriant 
growth  of  shrubs  and  flowers  and  ferns.  At  last,  as  the  top  is 
reached,  even  the  balsams  become  dwarfed,  and  there  give  place 
largely  to  clusters  of  rhododendron  and  patches  of  grass  fringed 
with  flowers,  many  of  them  such  as  are  commonly  seen  about  the 
hills  and  valleys  of  New  England  and  southern  Canada. 

In  such  ascent  one  passes  through,  as  it  were,  the  changing  of 
the  seasons.  Halfway  up  the  slopes  one  may  see,  with  fruit  just 
ripening,  the  shrubs  and  plants  the  matured  fruit  of  which  was 
seen  two  or  three  weeks  before  on  the  Piedmont  Plateau,  3,000 
feet  below;  while  3,000  feet  higher  up  the  same  species  have  now 
just  opened  wide  their  flowers.  Fully  a  month  divides  the  sea- 
sons above  and  below,  separated  by  this  nearly  6,000  feet  of 
altitude.^ 

'"Message  from  the  President  of  the  United  States  transmitting  a  Report  of 
the  Secretary  of  Agriculture  in  relation  to  the  Forests,  Rivers,  and  Mountains  of 
the  Southern  Appalachian  Region,"  pp.  22-23.     Washington,  Government,  1902. 

229 


THE  SOUTHERN  HIGHLANDER 

As  a  rule  the  forests  are  more  luxuriant  on  the  northwestern  side 
of  the  Blue  Ridge  Belt,  where  the  slope  is  less  abrupt  and  the  con- 
ditions of  moisture  and  soil  such  as  to  produce  "the  best  examples 
of  the  superb  hardwood  forests  which  abound  in  this  region — the 
finest  on  the  continent." 

There  have  been  in  the  United  States  four  great  areas  of  hard- 
woods— the  Ohio  Valley,  the  Lake  states,  the  lower  Mississippi 
Valley,  and  the  Appalachian  section.  Recent  data  are  lacking  for 
a  statement  of  the  comparative  output  of  these  various  sections, 
but  a  survey  published  by  the  Forest  Service  in  1907^  disclosed 
that  the  states  of  Ohio,  Indiana,  and  Illinois,  which  as  late  as  1899 
produced  25  percent  of  the  hardwood  cut,  in  1906  produced  only 
14  per  cent,  and  that  Ohio  and  Indiana  had  dropped  50  percent 
in  output.  It  was  estimated  at  that  time  that  the  Lake  states 
and  lower  Mississippi  Valley  had  probably  reached  their  maximum 
output,  with  their  many  woodworking  industries  making  great  de- 
mands on  what  remained.  Moreover,  as  much  of  the  land  from 
which  this  hardwood  was  removed  was  eminently  suited  to  agricul- 
ture, reforesting  in  many  sections  was  not  taking  place,  even 
swampy  lands  such  as  parts  of  the  lower  Mississippi  Valley  being 
drained  and  used  for  farm  purposes. 

The  importance  of  the  fourth  and  last  hardwood  area,  the  Appa- 
lachian section,  much  of  which  was  not  suited  to  agriculture  because 
of  slope  and  elevation,  was  therefore  recognized  as  an  available 
source  and  probably  a  permanent  source  of  hardwood  supply  if 
properly  conserved  and  lumbered.  In  1906  the  Appalachian  states^ 
from  Maine  to  Alabama  were  estimated  to  contain  75,000,000 
acres,  or  fully  half  of  the  country's  supply  of  hardwood,  and  to  be 
producing  48  per  cent  of  the  total  cut. 

In  the  Southern  Appalachians,  as  the  name  is  here  used  to  cover 
the  Southern  Highland  region,  there  were  estimated  to  be  58,583,000 

1  The  following  data  are  taken  from  Circular  1 16  of  the  United  States  Forest 
Service:  "The  Waning  Hardwood  Supply  and  the  Appalachian  Forests,"  Wash- 
ington, Government,  1907;  and  from  "Report  of  the  Secretary  of  Agriculture  on 
the  Southern  Appalachian  and  White  Mountain  Watersheds,"  Washington,  Gov- 
ernment, 1908. 

2  The  Appalachian  states  as  here  considered  include  Maine,  New  Hampshire, 
Vermont,  Massachusetts,  New  York,  Pennsylvania,  Maryland,  Virginia,  West 
Virginia,  Kentucky,  Tennessee,  North  Carolina,  South  Carolina,  Georgia,  and  Ala- 
bama. 

230 


RESOURCES   OF   THE   MOUNTAIN   COUNTRY 

acres  of  timber,  17  per  cent  unlumbered  or  slightly  culled  and 
83  per  cent  cut  over  and  in  all  stages  of  growth  and  reproduction, 
which  at  a  conservative  estimate^  should  yield  annually  2,343,320,- 
000  cubic  feet,  or  76  per  cent  of  the  annual  cut  of  3,000,000,000 
cubic  feet  for  the  entire  Appalachian  region. 

How  accurately  these  estimates  represent  the  forested  areas  and 
the  annual  hardwood  output  of  the  Southern  Highlands  in  more 
recent  years  there  are  no  data  to  indicate,  but  they  serve  to  suggest 
the  great  value  of  the  hardwoods  of  this  section,  even  when  one 
keeps  in  mind  the  heavy  cutting  that  has  gone  on  in  the  Highland 
area  since  this  survey  was  made,  the  devastation  caused  by  forest 
fires,^  and  the  turning  of  forested  into  agricultural  lands  to  support 
the  increase  of  population. 

The  increasing  scarcity  and  value  of  hardwood  timber  would 
seem  great  enough  in  themselves  to  insure  care  of  what  forest  is 
left;  and  when  one  sees  the  industrial  and  agricultural  possibilities 
of  the  mountain  country  that  await  development,  and  realizes  that 
only  through  a  proper  care  of  its  forests  will  the  full  benefits  of  such 
development  be  secured  to  the  future,  one  dares  to  be  hopeful, 
for  surely  wisdom  and  regard  for  the  rights  of  posterity  must  both 
guide  and  stay  the  hand  of  the  man  of  today.  But  something  of 
discouragement  fills  the  traveler's  heart  when  in  contrast  to  the 
primeval  grandeur  of  the  remote  forests,  he  encounters  sections  of 
the  mountains  where  the  axe  of  the  woodman,  forest  fire,  com- 
mercial short-sightedness,  and  greed  have  conspired  to  do  their 
worst.  The  tendency  on  the  part  of  lumber  companies  to  disre- 
gard the  future  is  painfully  brought  home  to  one  as  his  horse 
stumbles  and  falls  amid  the  logs,  branches,  and  shattered  tree 
trunks  left  to  be  enkindled  by  the  careless  camper,  hunter,  or 
mountaineer.    The  lumberman  gathers  the  best  and  goes  his  way. 

It  is  perhaps  true  that  because  of  the  carelessness  of  the  moun- 
tain farmer  and  neighboring  loggers  in  the  matter  of  fires  it  does 

1  Studies  by  Forest  Service,  which  covered  both  the  virgin  and  cut-over  lands  in 
east  Tennessee,  led  to  the  conclusion  that  with  proper  care  there  should  be  an  annual 
yield  of  50  cubic  feet  of  wood  per  acre.  A  conservative  basis  of  40  cubic  feet  was 
used  in  making  estimates  for  the  whole  area. 

2  The  damage  done  by  forest  fires  in  the  mountains  of  North  Carolina  alone  during 
1912  was  estimated  as  amounting  to  $651,981,  exclusive  of  $3,916,  estimated  as  the 
cost  of  fighting  fire  to  private  individuals. 

231 


THE  SOUTHERN  HIGHLANDER 

not  pay  a  lumberman,  even  so  disposed,  to  seek  to  insure  a  second 
growth.  Doubtless,  too,  uneconomic  methods  of  taxing  standing 
timber  and  its  increase  give  the  logging  companies  some  warrant 
for  reaping  a  quick  harvest. 

The  mountaineer  himself  is  doing  much  to  lessen  the  value  of 
these  forests.  Despite  the  high  value  placed  upon  woods  of  such 
scarcity  as  black  walnut,  in  one  mountain  home  visited  the  meal 
was  being  cooked  over  glowing  coals  of  black  walnut.  In  the  yard 
were  many  logs  of  the  same  wood  ready  to  be  cut  into  fireplace 
lengths.  The  owner  of  the  house  was  amply  able  to  buy  a  cook- 
stove,  but  his  wife  preferred  the  old-fashioned  ways.  In  reply  to 
a  protest  against  the  burning  of  such  valuable  wood,  she  replied 
that  it  was  "a  right  smart  of  trouble  to  haul  timber  down  the 
branch,"  and  that  there  were  "several  walnut  trees"  (a  goodly 
number)  about  there,  and  moreover,  they  "didn't  need  the  money 
nohow."  The  needlessness  of  this  waste  was  the  more  apparent 
as  one  saw  on  all  sides  cheap  timber  suitable  for  firewood;  and  in 
addition,  not  ten  yards  from  the  cabin  door  were  outcroppings  of 
coal  laid  bare  by  the  brook,  so  abundant  in  quantity  as  to  require 
but  little  work  to  yield  a  fuel  supply  sufficient  for  months.  Timber 
buyers  and  inspectors  report  walnut  and  beautifully  figured  tim- 
ber, which  as  trees  would  have  brought  high  prices,  split  into  rails 
and  firewood. 

Much  of  such  wastefulness  is  probably  due  to  difficulties  of 
transportation.  Still  more  may  be  attributed  to  ignorance  of  values, 
some  to  antagonism  toward  trees  in  general,  and  not  a  little  to  a 
certain  contentment  with  things  as  they  are.  This  is  particularly 
the  case  with  those  in  middle  life  and  older.  "What  more  does  a 
body  need?"  said  an  old  lady  to  the  visitor,  pointing  to  her  little 
corn  field  and  garden.  "  Yonder  is  a  right  smart  chance  of  corn  and 
a  heap  of  cushaws,  and  the  shoats  will  be  big  enough  to  kill  for 
meat  after  the  mast  is  gone." 

In  response  to  the  need  of  measures  for  insuring  a  good  forest 
growth  for  the  future,  strong  movements  were  launched  by 
public-spirited  officials  and  citizens  which  have  resulted  in  the 
setting  aside  of  certain  areas  in  national  forest  reservations.  The 
relation  of  such  reservations  and  their  forest  cover  to  the  control 
of  leading  rivers,  the  headwaters  of  which  lie  within  them,  was  an 

232 


RESOURCES   OF   THE    MOUNTAIN    COUNTRY 

essential  consideration  in  their  location  and  importance.  There 
have  been  approved  up  to  the  present  time  for  purchase  within  the 
Southern  Highlands,  1,337,076  acres  in  national  forests,  distributed 
by  states  as  follows:  Virginia,  407,554;  North  Carolina,  347-674; 
Tennessee,  241,697;  Georgia,  148,556;  West  Virginia,  114,985; 
Alabama,  52,526;  South  Carolina,  24,084.  New  areas  should,  it  is 
believed,  be  reserved  especially  in  West  Virginia,  and  in  Kentucky, 
which  has  now  granted  the  Federal  Government  the  right  to  ac- 
quire lands  for  national  forests  within  its  borders. 

In  the  administration  of  the  national  forests  it  is  the  object  to 
serve  the  interests  of  all  the  people.  Where  conditions  permit, 
mineral  rights  are  leased,  timber  is  cut,  and  cattle  grazed.  On  a 
tract  of  less  than  100,000  acres  of  forest  range  in  the  Shenandoah 
National  Reserve  in  Virginia,  2,000  head  of  cattle  were  supported 
during  the  season  of  1918-1919.  During  the  same  period  the 
receipts  from  the  sale  of  resources  from  the  national  forests  in  the 
Appalachian  states  jumped  36  per  cent,  according  to  the  report  of 
the  National  Forest  Reservation  Commission^,  and  this  at  a  time 
when  the  scarcity  of  labor  and  of  equipment  greatly  handicapped 
the  lumbering  industry  everywhere.  The  belief,  moreover,  is  ex- 
pressed that  these  national  forests,  purchased  primarily  for  water- 
shed protection,  will  without  danger  to  this  function  yield  annually 
in  a  few  years  in  excess  of  half  a  billion  board  feet  of  timber  in 
addition  to  large  amounts  of  pulp  wood  and  tannic  acid  stock. 

it  is  purposed,  too,  that  definite  provisions  for  recreation  shall 
be  made  besides  the  usual  rights  granted  to  campers.  The  recrea- 
tion problem,  however,  is  not  a  simple  one  in  these  areas  which 
are  small  as  compared  to  many  of  the  western  parks  and  fairly 
accessible  to  a  large  population.  The  suggestion  that  more  or  less 
permanent  camp  or  summer  communities,  possibly  with  hotel 
accommodations,  be  permitted  within  restricted  areas  seems  rea- 
sonable, in  view  of  the  many  objections  in  the  way  of  leasing  home 
sites  to  individuals. 

But  three  of  the  mountain  states  own  reservations:  North 
Carolina,  with  1,225  acres  along  the  summit  of  Mount  Mitchell; 
Kentucky,  with  3,400  acres  along  the  south  side  of  Pine  Mountain 

1  Annual  report  of  the  National  Forest  Reservation  Commission  for  the  fiscal 
year  ending  June  30,  1919.     Washington,  Government,  1920. 

233 


THE  SOUTHERN  HIGHLANDER 

in  Harlan  County ;i  and  Maryland,  with  four  reserves  in  Garrett 
County  covering  2,628  acres.  Tennessee  owns  about  2,500  acres 
of  land  in  the  mountainous  part  of  the  state,  but  this  is  held  mainly 
for  its  timber,  coal,  and  fish,  and  is  not  set  apart  as  a  forest  reserva- 
tion. 

Water  Power 

A  consideration  of  the  forests  of  the  Southern  Highlands  nat- 
urally raises  an  inquiry  as  to  the  water  power  dependent  so  largely 
upon  their  conservation.  The  importance  of  the  Southern  Appa- 
lachian forests  to  the  development  of  water  powder  within  the 
Southern  states  will  be  the  more  evident  when  one  realizes  that 
practically  all  the  rivers  which  flow  through  these  states  to  the 
Atlantic  or  to  the  Mississippi  and  Gulf  of  Mexico  have  their  sources 
in  the  Highlands;  and  that  inasmuch  as  there  are  no  natural  lakes 
for  water  storage  within  the  Highlands,  the  exceptionally  heavy 
rainfall  of  the  region  must  be  stored  and  equalized  through  the 
action  of  the  forest  cover.  Thus  upon  the  proper  conservation  of 
these  forests  depends  not  only  the  future  industrial  development 
of  the  immediate  section  which  is  dependent  upon  the  use  of  its 
water  power,  but  the  present  and  future  industries  of  the  Piedmont 
Plateau  as  well.  The  extent  of  this  development  through  the  trans- 
mission of  electric  power  cannot  yet  be  estimated. 

Table  1 1  shows  the  estimated  water  power  of  the  principal  rivers 
heading  in  the  Southern  Appalachians,  with  the  exception  of  the 
Big  Sandy,  the  Cumberland,  and  the  Kentucky.  These  estimates 
were  the  result  of  a  seven-year  field  investigation  of  the  United 
States  Geological  Survey,  as  revised  by  the  Commissioner  of  Cor- 
porations in  his  report,  "Water  Power  Development  in  the  United 
States  in  I9i2."2  The  table  shows  both  the  potential  water  power 
and  the  water  power  which  has  been  developed  for  the  Southern 
Highland  states  and  for  the  total  United  States.  The  minimum 
potential  power  represents  the  power  which  could  be  developed 
from  the  average  stream  flow  for  the  lowest  fourteen-day  period  in 
each  year.  The  maximum  potential  power  represents  the  amount 
that  could  be  developed  from  the  average  flow  for  the  six-month 
period  of  highest  stream  flow  during  the  year.    The  table  shows 

1  Gift  of  the  Kentenia-Catron  Corporation  of  Harlan,  Kentucky. 

2  U.  S.  Senate  Document  No.  316,  64th  Congress. 

234 


RESOURCES   OF   THE   MOUNTAIN    COUNTRY 

that  672,000  horse  power,  or  only  a  fifth  of  the  potential  power  at 
minimum  stream  flow,  had  been  developed  at  the  time  these  data 
were  secured.  Were  only  half  of  the  total  minimum  power  to  be 
regarded  as  commercially  available,  this  would  represent  at  the 
conservative  annual  rental  of  $20  per  horse  power  an  annual  income 
of  ^33,880,000. 


TABLE   II. — ESTIMATED   POTENTIAL  AND  DEVELOPED  WATER   POWER 
OF  THE  RIVERS  OF  THE  SOUTHERN  HIGHLAND  STATES.a 


'State 

Potential  horse  power 

Developed 

Minimum 

Maximum 

horse  power 

Alabama 
Georgia 
Kentucky 

Maryland  and  D.  C. 
North  Carolina 
South  Carolina 
Tennessee 
Virginia 
West  X'irsinia 

509,000 
374.000 
83,000 
48,000 
578,000 
460,000 
463,000 
492,000 
381,000 

943.000 
627,000 
197,000 
133,000 
875,000 
677,000 
761,000 
870,000 
1,051,000 

26,446 

1 1 1,501 

5,841 

16,889 
1 10,203 
221,492 

37.396 
123,079 

19,181 

Total 

3,388,000 

6,134,000 

672,028 

iotal  United  States 

29,943,000 

53,905,000 

4,870,320 

a  Exclusive  of  the  Big  Sandy,  the  Cumberland,  and  the  Kentucky  Rivers. 

The  proper  control  and  use  of  this  enormous  water  power,  about 
one-ninth  of  the  total  potential  water  power  of  the  United  States, 
will  mean  much  to  the  entire  South.  A  tendency  to  concentrate 
the  control  of  this  water  power  is  being  evidenced,  however,  just  as 
lumber  syndicates  are  seeking  control  of  the  timber  lands.  This 
effort  has  been  apparent  during  the  last  few  years.  For  example, 
in  North  Carolina  it  was  reported  by  the  state  geologist  in  191 8 
that  75  per  cent  of  the  developed  water  powers  were  controlled  by 
corporations,  and  that  94  per  cent  of  the  potential  water  powers 
of  the  state  were  controlled  by  only  eight  corporations.^  Only 
I  per  cent  of  the  water  power  was  controlled  by  49  municipalities 
in  the  state. 

1  Biennial  Report  of  the  State  Geologist,  North  Carolina  Geologic  and  Economic 
Survey,  1917-1918,  p.  75. 

>7  235 


THE  SOUTHERN  HIGHLANDER 

The  large  supply  of  hardwood  timber  in  the  Blue  Ridge  Belt  is 
already  inviting  wood-working  plants.  If  the  water  power  could 
be  rightly  controlled  and  utilized,  and  a  reasonable  rental  and  sys- 
tematic treatment  of  the  forests  assured,  there  should  be  a  great 
increase  in  wood-working  and  other  industries.  It  is  likely,  also, 
that  the  difficulties  of  transportation  throughout  the  mountain 
section  would  be  met  more  economically  through  electric  power 
here  generated  than  through  the  present  means  of  rail  locomotion. 

The  possibility  of  generating  electricity  from  the  smaller  streams 
to  do  the  farm  and  home  tasks  has  as  yet  scarcely  been  considered.^ 
Eventually  it  would  seem  that  in  many  regions  the  heavier  burdens 
of  rural  life — pumping,  washing,  churning,  sawing  of  wood,  and 
other  activities — might  be  lightened  in  this  way.  The  cost  of 
installation  of  any  apparatus  is  at  present  prohibitive  for  the  ma- 
jority of  people,  but  it  is  not  unreasonable  to  anticipate  that  much 
of  the  labor  of  the  Highlander  of  the  future  will  be  lessened  in  shops 
and  homes  lighted  and  run  by  electricity. 

Bituminous  Coal 

As  has  been  indicated,  our  western  belt,  the  Allegheny-Cumber- 
land, is  pre-eminently  a  region  of  coal  which  extends  into  western 
areas  of  the  Greater  Appalachian  Valley.  There  is  no  coal  in  the 
Blue  Ridge  Belt. 

For  the  sake  of  convenience,  the  coal  areas  of  the  United  States 
are  divided  into  two  great  divisions — anthracite,  and  bituminous 
and  lignite.  The  anthracite  field  is  confined  almost  exclusively  to 
an  area  of  about  500  square  miles  in  eastern  Pennsylvania.  The 
workable  bituminous  fields  are  scattered  widely  over  the  United 
States  and  include  an  area  of  more  than  300,000  square  miles. 
These  fields  are  divided  primarily  into  six  provinces.  The  coal 
field  of  the  Southern  Highlands  is  part  of  the  eastern  province, 
which  in  its  entirety  includes  all  of  the  bituminous  areas  of  the 

^  An  electric  plant,  operated  by  water  power  and  installed  in  one  of  the  mountain 
schools  at  the  cost  of  about  ^125  per  horse  power,  is  used  for  lighting  school  build- 
ings and  some  of  the  neighborhood  homes,  in  the  work  of  the  school  five  motors 
are  used,  not  all  at  the  same  time,  however.  With  these  they  run  machines  in  shop, 
separators,  and  milking  machines,  and  grind  corn  and  wheat.  Electricity  is 
utilized  also  in  heating  and  cooking,  and  for  ironing  in  the  laundry.  The  expense  of 
running  the  plant  is  said  to  be  small. 

236 


RESOURCES   OF   THE    MOUNTAIN    COUNTRY 

Appalachian  region,  the  Atlantic  Coast  region,  and  also  the  anthra- 
cite region  of  Pennsylvania. 

The  known  area  of  workable  coal  within  the  Highlands  is  42,2 1 5 
square  miles,  containing  an  estimated  original  supply  of  coal  of 
344,456,900,000  net  tons.  In  191 7  the  production  of  coal  within 
this  area  was  145,159,553  net  tons.  The  total  production  to  the  end 
of  1 91 7  was  2,074,343,738  tons. 

If  no  other  coal  fields  be  discovered  or  come  to  be  work- 
able, there  is  a  bituminous  coal  supply  in  the  Southern  Appala- 
chians sufficient  for  almost  2,360  years,  if  the  rate  of  production 
be  that  of  191 7,  and  a  supply  for  165  years  if  the  annual  production 
equal  the  total  exhaustion  from  the  beginning  of  mining  to  the  close 
of  1 91 7.  As  mining  methods  improve,  however,  the  waste  of  coal, 
which,  according  to  the  United  States  Geological  Survey,  has 
amounted  in  the  past  to  as  much  as  50  per  cent  of  the  total  amount 
mined,  in  the  future  may  not  run  more  than  10  or  20  per  cent, 
thereby  materially  increasing  the  length  of  life  of  this  coal  field. 

The  largest  area  of  workable  coal  in  the  Highlands  is  in  West 
Virginia,  with  Kentucky  and  Alabama  ranking  second  and  third 
respectively.  Table  12,  which  has  been  compiled  from  figures  of 
the  United  States  Geological  Survey,^  compares  the  coal  areas  of 
the  mountain  regions  of  the  several  states  and  also  shows  the  pro- 
duction in  191 7  and  the  number  of  miners  employed.  The  moun- 
tains of  North  and  South  Carolina  are  without  coal  areas,  and  in 
Georgia,  which  has  only  two  counties  with  working  mines,  coal 
mining  does  not  rank  as  an  important  industry.  In  the  other  six 
states,  both  in  point  of  coal  produced  and  the  number  of  miners 
employed,  coal  is  important.  The  table  also  shows  the  total  figures 
for  the  United  States  for  bituminous  mines.  The  Highland  area 
of  42,215  square  miles  of  workable  coal  is  about  one-eighth  of  the 
total  coal  areas  of  the  United  States,  in  point  of  operation  the 
Southern  Highlands  produced  in  191 7  more  than  a  quarter  of  the 
total  bituminous  production  of  the  United  States  and  employed 
more  than  a  fourth  of  the  entire  number  of  miners. 

1  Mineral  Resources  of  the  United  States,  1914,  Part  II,  p.  29.  Mineral  Re- 
sources of  the  United  States,  1917,  Part  II,  pp.  903-1409.  Washington,  Govern- 
ment. 


237 


THE  SOUTHERN  HIGHLANDER 


TABLE   12. COAL  AREAS,   COAL   PRODUCED,   AND  MINERS   EMPLOYED 

IN  THE  SOUTHERN  HIGHLANDS,   BY  STATES.       I917 


Coal 
areas  m 
square 

miles 

Coal  produced 

Miners 

State 

Tons 

Value 

employed 

Alabama* 

Georgia 

Kentucky 

Tennessee 

Virginia 

West  Virginia 

Maryland 

8,373 
167 

10,270 
4,400 
1.550 

17,000 

455 

20,068,074 

1 19,028 

17,503,548 

6,194,221 
10,087,091 
86,441,667 

4,745.924 

$45,616,992 

301,391 

43,386,990 

13,592,998 

20,125,713 

200,659,368 
1 1,667,852 

28,386 
281 

23.503 

10,421 

11,168 

88,422 

5,919 

Total  mountain  region 

42,215 

145,159,553 

$335,351,304 

168,100 

Total  United  States  (bitu- 
minous mines) 

339,900 

551.790,563 

1,249,272,837 

603,143 

a  Includes  data  for  two  counties,  Bibb  and  Tuscaloosa,  lying  just  without  the 
mountain  region. 


The  rapidity  of  development  in  different  areas  of  the  field  has 
varied  greatly,  West  Virginia  and  Kentucky  showing  the  greatest 
recent  increase.  In  191 7  West  Virginia  showed  a  gain  over  1914 
of  14,734,041  net  tons  output,  and  Kentucky  a  gainof  5,081,789  tons. 
The  development  of  certain  local  areas  within  these  two  states  can 
be  fully  appreciated  only  if  one  has  as  a  basis  of  comparison  the 
conditions  existing  in  these  regions  but  a  few  years  ago. 

It  would  be  interesting  to  know  how  many  of  the  total  number 
of  miners  are  native  mountaineers.  At  present  they  appear  to  con- 
stitute a  minority.  Estimates  have  been  made  that  in  some  of  the 
Appalachian  states  the  native  mountaineers  comprise  about  one- 
third  of  the  miners  in  those  states.  As  a  general  statement  for  the 
entire  region  this  would  probably  be  too  large  a  proportion.  The 
mountaineers  follow  naturally  the  work  to  which  they  have  been 
accustomed,  such  as  lumbering,  hauling,  and  farming;  but  as  they 
become  acquainted  with  mining  operations,  numbers  of  them  at- 
tempt mining,  and  a  fair  percentage  become  good  miners.  They 
would  seem  to  work  largely  in  the  newer  smaller  mines,  the  foreign 
element  increasing  rapidly  as  operations  are  extended.  In  one 
newly  opened  area  where  many  mountain  miners  were  employed, 

238 


RESOURCES   OF  THE   MOUNTAIN   COUNTRY 

some  of  these  men  were  said  to  be  earning  in  1919, 3>  5  a  day,  and 
some  as  high  as  $5500  a  month  in  contrast  to  the  $300  of  the  mine 
superintendent.  Speaking  generally,  however,  the  returns  to  the 
mountain  people  from  the  opening  of  coal  mines  are,  and  probably 
will  be  for  some  time  to  come,  indirect  returns  from  the  sale  of  pro- 
duce from  their  farms  and  from  business  undertakings  other  than 
mining  that  spring  up  as  a  result  of  the  opening  up  of  new  territory. 
The  many  problems  connected  with  betterment  of  conditions  in 
mining  communities  in  the  mountains  are  primarily  those  of  an 
industrial  development,  but  they  cannot  be  viewed  entirely  apart 
from  the  rural  mountain  problem,  for  mountain  life  in  the  vicinity 
of  mines  has  already  been  greatly  affected  from  a  social  as  well  as 
an  economic  standpoint.  How  to  fit  the  Highlander  to  take  his 
place  in  this  development,  and  how  to  equalize  the  reaction  of  in- 
dustrial conditions  upon  rural  regions  adjacent  and  entirely  unpre- 
pared for  such  changes,  are  questions  which  must  concern  all  who 
are  interested  in  the  Highlander  and  his  homeland. 

Coke,  Oil,  and  Natural  Gas 

Closely  allied  with  the  bituminous  coal  industry  is  the  production 
of  coke,  in  which  West  Virginia  and  Alabama  lead  the  other  states 
in  our  field.  Among  the  22  coke  producing  states  of  the  United 
States  in  191 7,  Alabama  ranks  second,  West  Virginia  fifth,  Vir- 
ginia seventh,  Kentucky  twelfth,  Maryland  fifteenth,  Tennessee 
eighteenth,  and  Georgia  twenty-second.  The  output  of  coke  for 
these  seven  states  in  1917  was  1 1,379,376  tons,  and  its  value  at  the 
ovens  ^61,293,417. 

About  two-thirds  of  the  output  was  used  in  1916  within  the  states 
which  produced  it — largely  in  the  manufacture  of  iron.  There 
being  little  production  of  iron  in  West  Virginia,  most  of  its  coke 
goes  to  supply  markets  without  the  mountain  region. 

West  Virginia  ranked  first  in  191 7  among  the  states  producing 
natural  gas,  and  eighth  among  those  producing  petroleum,  these  out- 
puts being  valued  at  $57,389,161  and  $27,246,960  respectively. 
Other  gas  and  oil  producing  states  are  Kentucky,  Tennessee,  and 
Alabama,  the  gas  and  oil  in  Alabama  l\ing  mainly  in  the  region 
adjoining  the  mountains  ratherthan  within  them.  In  Kentuckyand 
Tennessee  during  the  last  few  years  oil  development  has  been 

239 


THE  SOUTHERN  HIGHLANDER 

rapid — Kentucky  in  191 7  marketing  3,088, 160  barrels  of  petroleum, 
the  largest  part  of  which  was  produced  within  the  Highland  region. 
Much  of  this  development  is,  however,  likely  to  be  short-lived,  some 
of  the  eastern  Kentucky  wells  being  already  exhausted  after  two 
years  of  operation. 

Iron 

Iron  is  an  important  mineral  deposit  of  the  Southern  Highlands. 
The  Southeastern  Iron  District,  within  which  most  of  the  iron  pro- 
ducing states  considered  in  this  study  lie,  includes  the  Virginias, 
eastern  Kentucky,  east  Tennessee,  North  Carolina,  Georgia,  and 
northeastern  Alabama.  The  ores  of  Maryland  are  not  included  in 
this  group.  This  Southeastern  District  ranks  second  in  importance 
among  the  iron  districts  of  the  United  States  in  the  amount  of  iron 
produced.  The  total  amount  of  iron  ore  shipped  in  191 7  from  the 
mines  of  Alabama,  Georgia,  North  Carolina,  Tennessee,  and  Vir- 
ginia^  was  8,396,841  gross  tons,  valued  at  $16,437,775.  Including 
ores  from  the  mines  of  Maryland — 10,730  gross  tons  valued  at 
$40,423 — these  six  states  produced  1 1  per  cent  of  the  total  amount 
of  iron  ore  shipped  from  the  mines  of  the  United  States  in  191 7. 

Accessibility  and  mining  conditions  are  the  two  factors  which 
most  affect  the  cost  of  delivering  ore  at  the  furnace.  Distance 
from  fuel  is  a  more  serious  drawback  than  the  absence  of  trans- 
portation lines.  Many  of  the  deposits  of  the  Southeastern  District 
are  near  the  fuel  supply,  and  it  is  noticeable  that  in  times  of  de- 
pression when  the  output  of  iron  falls  off  in  other  districts,  there  is 
less  of  a  falling  off  in  sections  of  this  district,  and  at  times  even  an 
increase.  This  is  especially  marked  in  Alabama,  where  the  fuel 
supply  is  readily  available.  The  close  juxtaposition  of  fuel  and  ore 
would  seem  to  offer  in  the  future  an  advantage  to  the  lower  grade 
of  ores  of  this  district  over  the  high-grade  ores  of  other  districts 
more  remote  from  fuel  supply. 

According  to  estimates  made  by  C.  W.  Hayes,  of  the  United 
States  Geological  Survey  in  1908,  there  was  in  this  field  an  avail- 
able supply  of  iron  ores,  including  magnetite,  hematite,  brown  and 
carbonate  ores,  of  538,440,000  tons,  and  the  estimates  of  ores  not 

1  The  ores  of  West  Virginia  are  not  included,  as  separate  estimates  are  not  avail- 
able. 

240 


RESOURCES   OF   THE   MOUNTAIN    COUNTRY 

yet  available  were  1,276,500,000  tons.    These  are,  of  course,  only 
approximate  estimates. 

Other  Mineral  Deposits 

in  addition  to  the  minerals  mentioned  previously  there  are  nu- 
merous other  mineral  deposits  within  the  mountains.  Some  of 
these,  such  as  gold,  copper,  marble,  mica,  emery,  chromite,  feld- 
spar, corundum,  asbestos,  talc,  slate,  barytes,  and  kaolin,  have 
been  mined  profitably.    Many  others  have  never  been  developed. 

Gold  has  been  found  in  different  parts  of  the  field.  The  gold 
region  of  Georgia  was  famous  before  the  discovery  of  that  metal 
in  California  in  "forty-nine."  So  important  was  this  field  that  a 
government  mint  was  established  at  Dahlonega  in  Lumpkin 
County  in  the  decade  after  1830.  Although  there  is  no  longer  a 
mint  there,  gold  mining  is  still  carried  on  profitably  in  this  region. 

The  most  important  copper  district  is  that  of  Ducktown,  Polk 
County,  Tennessee. 

The  marbles  of  Tennessee  and  Georgia  have  a  deserved  reputa- 
tion. 

Mica  is  worked  profitably  in  North  Carolina.  There  are  also 
deposits  of  value  in  Georgia,  likewise  asbestos  of  commercial  im- 
portance. 

Among  the  building  stones  other  than  marble  are  limestone, 
granite,  sandstone,  dolomite,  soapstone,  and  others.  Many  of 
these  as  yet  undeveloped  are  of  a  grade  equal  and  often  superior  to 
those  now  quarried  in  the  more  accessible  parts  of  the  field. 

Clay  for  brick,  the  fire  clay  of  the  coal  measures,  together  with 
kaolin  and  other  deposits,  await  better  transportation  facilities  and 
more  economical  methods  of  production  to  bring  from  this  region 
a  rich  return  to  labor  and  capital  alike. 

Transportation  Facilities 

In  the  development  of  the  mineral  resources  of  the  mountains, 
capital,  trained  labor,  and  transportation  are  essential. 

The  transportation  facilities  of  the  mountain  region  as  a  whole 
are  poor.  Many  of  the  sources  of  supply  are  far  from  railroads. 
Within  the  last  decade,  however,  much  territory  hitherto  difficult 
to  reach  has  been  made  more  accessible  through  the  building  of 

241 


THE  SOUTHERN  HIGHLANDER 

railways.  In  Kentucky  especially,  a  number  of  short  railway 
branches  in  connection  with  the  coal  development  have  penetrated 
the  mountains,  opening  up  territory  which  had  been  isolated  for 
fifty  or  one  hundred  years.  Other  extensions  are  now  building 
which  will  give  access  to  new  mountain  fields  and  outlets  for  these 
fields  to  the  north,  east,  south,  and  west. 

A  strong  movement  has  been  initiated  looking  to  the  provision 
of  water  transportation  through  the  locking  of  some  of  the  forks  of 
the  mountain  rivers.  Some  of  this  work  has  already  been  done, 
but  as  yet  the  development  has  not  been  such  as  to  divert  traffic 
from  the  railroads. 

It  is  likely  that  in  the  future  this  region  will  be  made  still  more 
accessible  by  means  of  well-built  highways.  The  Highlands  have 
suffered  in  the  past,  economically  and  socially,  from  exceedingly 
poor  roads.  In  some  sections,  roads  are  practically  impossible  to 
travel  at  any  time  of  year  except  by  horseback  or  the  heaviest  of 
wagons,  drawn  sometimes  by  several  teams  of  mules.  Travel  in 
the  winter  season  is  very  difficult  throughout  a  large  part  of  the 
rural  mountain  country.  The  Ford  car  has  made  accessible  many 
areas  which  previously  were  shut  off;  but  in  places  where  the 
population  is  poor,  where  natural  resources  are  such  as  to  offer  no 
great  inducements  to  capital,  and  where  the  expense  of  road  build- 
ing is  high  because  of  lack  of  road-building  material  and  the  diffi- 
culties of  topography,  it  will  probably  be  many  years  before  travel 
is  possible  even  to  these  "great  civilizers." 

In  many  sections,  however,  and  even  in  some  remote  counties, 
the  good-roads  movement  is  being  advanced  rapidly,  under  the 
stimulus  of  state  and  federal  aid.  A  plan  advocated  in  some  states 
to  connect  all  county-seats  by  good  roads,  would  be  of  untold 
benefit  to  the  rural  population. 

A  highway  known  as  the  Dixie  Highway  is  at  present  under  con- 
struction, which  is  to  offer  a  through  route  from  Sault  Ste.  Marie 
and  Detroit  to  Savannah,  Georgia.  While  this  route  passes  for  the 
most  part  through  valley  areas  and  territory  already  opened  up  by 
railroads,  one  portion  which  turns  east  from  Knoxville,  Tennessee, 
through  North  Carolina  into  South  Carolina,  traverses  one  of  the 
most  beautiful  and  rugged  portions  of  the  Blue  Ridge.  Branches 
will  eventually  connect  this  main  highway  with  a  road  along  the 

242 


RESOURCES   OF   THE    MOUNTAIN    COUNTRY 

crest  of  the  Blue  Ridge  by  Grandfather  Mountain,  and  other 
branches  will  connect  it  with  highways  through  the  valley  and 
mountain  sections  of  Virginia. 

By  reason  of  this  greater  accessibility  the  Southern  Highlands 
are  likely  to  become  more  and  more  the  recreation  fields  of  the 
South,  the  East,  and  the  Middle  West.  This  great  upland  tract  is 
but  a  short  distance  from  the  urban  centers  of  the  Southern  states, 
and  but  a  day's  journey  from  many  of  the  cities  of  the  East  and 
of  the  Mississippi  Valley.  Lack  of  proper  accommodations  and 
transportation  facilities  have  kept  it  from  being  more  extensively 
explored  by  pleasure  and  health  seekers,  although  parts  of  it,  espe- 
cially the  Blue  Ridge  section,  have  long  been  considered  peculiarly 
favorable  for  the  treatment  of  certain  diseases,  and  the  region  in 
general  has  been  for  many  years  increasingly  used  as  a  refuge  for  those 
who  wished  to  escape  the  extreme  heat  of  the  lower  country  sur- 
rounding it  and  the  long  cold  springs  of  more  northern  climes. 

Climate 

The  idea  is  sometimes  held  that  because  this  region  is  situated  in 
the  South,  it  must  necessarily  be  warm  in  winter  and  hot  and  ener- 
vating in  summer.  Surprise  and  doubt  are  expressed  when  it  is 
heard  that  blankets  are  needed  almost  every  summer  night,  and 
that  in  winter  below-zero  temperatures  are  occasionally  registered 
for  a  day  or  two  at  a  time. 

As  a  whole  the  Highlands  are  much  cooler  than  the  surrounding 
regions,  but  as  might  be  expected,  in  view  of  their  extent  and  the 
great  variety  of  their  topography,  marked  differences  are  found  in 
different  areas.  Naturally,  the  northerly  reaches  are  likely  to  be 
cooler  than  the  southern,  and  the  ridges,  of  course,  than  the 
Greater  Appalachian  Valley,  or  the  intramontane  valleys.  The 
temperature  varies  in  summer  from  40  degrees  on  the  tops  of  the 
mountains  to  from  70  to  85,  and  occasionally  even  90  degrees  in 
the  valleys.  It  is  always  cool  at  night,  and  cool  in  the  shade  even 
on  the  warmest  days.  In  the  direct  rays  of  the  sun  it  is  warm. 
Winter  temperatures  of  from  11  to  20  degrees  below  zero  have 
been  registered,  but  usually  the  winters,  while  cool  enough  to 
be  bracing,  are  not  severe.  It  is  common  for  the  thermom- 
eter to  drop  15   to  20  degrees  below  freezing  at  night,  and  to 

243 


THE  SOUTHERN  HIGHLANDER 

rise  to  several  degrees  above  freezing  during  the  course  of  the 
morning.  Snow  seldom  Hes  long  on  the  ground  except  on  the 
northern  sides  of  the  higher  mountains.  Outdoor  sports  and  activ- 
ities of  all  kinds  are  possible  throughout  a  large  part  of  the  year. 

The  country  is  drained  through  most  of  its  area  by  an  abundance 
of  swift-flowing  streams,  which  carry  off  the  heavy  rainfalls  with 
amazing  swiftness.  Considering  that  the  amount  of  rainfall  is 
exceedingly  high  in  parts  of  the  mountain  section,  especially  the 
southeast  slope  where  it  is  exceeded  only  by  that  of  the  northern 
Pacific  slope,  the  average  of  humidity  is  not  so  great  as  might  be 
expected.  It  is,  in  fact,  not  so  great  as  that  of  the  Gulf  Coastal 
Plain  or  Interior  Lowlands,  where  the  average  of  wind  movement 
is  less. 

It  would  seem,  indeed,  that  the  healthfulness  of  the  climate  and 
the  great  beauty  of  the  country  were  in  themselves  resources  suffi- 
cient to  lead  to  its  development. 

Unfortunately,  the  opening  up  of  a  country  is  at  times  of  ques- 
tionable benefit  to  a  native  population.  Even  good  roads,  as  has 
been  seen,  are  not  an  unmixed  blessing.  In  some  rural  sections 
they  have  already  served  as  easy  avenues  by  which  to  leave  the 
country  for  the  city.  In  others  the  vices  of  the  city  have  found  a 
quick  approach  to  the  heart  of  regions  which,  with  all  their  limi- 
tations, had  preserved  a  certain  sturdy  vigor.  Industrial  develop- 
ment has  brought  in  its  train  both  good  and  evil,  as  may  be  quickly 
recognized  where  a  new  railroad  has  accompanied  the  recent  open- 
ing of  mining  or  other  industrial  operations. 

Better  transportation,  higher  wages,  a  market  at  hand  for  the 
sale  of  produce,  more  recreational  opportunities,  and  a  wider  view 
of  life  are  among  the  features  which  in  many  ways  are  of  advantage. 
On  the  other  hand,  lumber  and  mining  operations  not  permanent, 
as  is  the  case  with  many,  leave  a  region  not  only  poorer  in  material 
resources  but  vitiated  by  association  with  types  of  criminality  not 
native  to  the  region.  When  operations  are  of  a  more  permanent 
character,  class  distinctions  appear  and  extremes  of  wealth  and 
poverty  tend  to  make  these  distinctions  rigid.  "  It  seems  like  folks 
don't  live  as  well  now  that  the  railroad  has  come  in  as  they  did  in 
the  old  days  when  everyone  raised  enough  for  himself,"  is  the 

244 


RESOURCES   OF   THE    MOUNTAIN    COUNTRY 

plaint  one  frequently  hears.  The  increase  in  certain  types  of  crime, 
"bootlegging"  especially,  has  been  suggested.  Moreover,  in  min- 
ing and  mill  communities,  unless  the  corporation  is  far-sighted  and 
liberal  in  expenditures,  sanitary  conditions  are  bad.  Unsanitary 
conditions  of  living  which  in  isolated  places  have  proved  dangerous, 
under  the  congestion  of  the  industrial  town  become  fruitful  sources 
of  disease  and  death.  In  a  like  manner  an  attitude  which  for  lack 
of  a  better  word  may  be  called  "unmoral"  in  isolation,  becomes 
often  actively  immoral  in  the  mining  town. 

The  industrial  development  of  the  mountains  has  been  dependent 
largely  upon  urban  and  extra-mountain  capital.  It  is  doubtful 
if  in  the  past  the  mountain  people  as  a  whole  have  profited  largely 
by  their  mineral  or  timber  holdings.  Individuals  have  become  very 
wealthy,  but  too  often  the  people  have  sold  to  outside  companies 
for  a  nominal  sum  rights  which  should  have  been  held  for  a  higher 
price,  or  better,  should  have  been  leased  on  a  royalty  basis. 

The  condition  of  many  of  the  Highland  people  would  seem  to 
be  discouraging — with  timber  cut,  water  and  mineral  rights  gone, 
minerals  in  some  cases  already  exhausted,  and  health  and  some- 
times moral  stamina  impaired.  Even  the  agricultural  resources, 
as  we  shall  see,  have  suffered  serious  deterioration.  The  picture 
is  a  dark  one,  yet  there  has  never  been  a  time  when  so  much  intel- 
ligent interest  was  manifested  in  the  safeguarding  and  proper 
development  of  resources. 

The  situation  is  not  to  be  improved,  moreover,  by  decrying  in- 
dustrial development.  It  is  not  possible,  nor  is  it  desirable  to  arrest 
this.  The  store  of  treasure  is  of  value  only  as  used,  and  ability, 
if  dormant,  is  useless.  In  places  it  may  even  be  desirable  that 
capital  be  invited  to  the  field,  and  equitable  terms  offered  as  well  as 
trained  labor  provided.  In  order  that  such  a  condition  be  brought 
about,  the  states  should  individually  and  collectively  and  in  co- 
operation with  the  Federal  Government  and  with  disinterested 
private  associations,  from  time  to  time  take  the  action  that  is  needed 
to  encourage  private  enterprise,  and  also  to  check  the  excesses 
which  grow  out  of  such  enterprises  when  but  little  restricted. 

Many  as  are  the  possibilities  of  industrial  growth,  for  much  of 
the  mountain  country  the  future  development  lies  probably  in 
agriculture,  for  which  large  areas  are  eminently  suited,  and  most 

245 


THE  SOUTHERN  HIGHLANDER 

kinds  of  mining  do  not  necessarily  interfere  greatly  with   the  till- 
ing of  the  soil. 

Agriculture 

Fundamental  in  any  discussion  of  agricultural  resources  is  the 
question  of  soil.  The  Southern  Highland  country  lies  within  the 
two  soil  provinces^  designated  by  the  United  States  Bureau  of 
Soils  as  the  Appalachian  Mountain  and  Plateau  Province  and  the 
Limestone  Valley  and  Upland  Province.  Within  the  first^  are  in- 
cluded the  Allegheny-Cumberland  and  Blue  Ridge  Belts,  and  in 
the  second  the  Greater  Appalachian  Valley.  In  both  these  pro- 
vinces the  soils  are  derived  from  the  disintegration  and  to  a  cer- 
tain extent  the  decomposition  of  rocks  in  place,  but  the  classes  of 
rocks  underlying  the  soils  and  the  manner  of  their  disintegration 
are  very  different. 

The  entire  western,  or  Allegheny-Cumberland  Belt,  may  be  re- 
garded in  a  very  general  way  as  cut  from  an  enormous  block  of 
sedimentary  rock,  sloping  to  the  northwest  and  so  deeply  eroded 
as  to  have  lost  in  sections  all  semblance  to  a  plateau,  save  in  the 
prevailing  level  of  the  resistant  rocky  hill  crests.  The  soils  are 
predominantly  the  weathered  residuals  of  sandstone,  shale,  and 
conglomerate,  and  are  sufficiently  deep  in  most  places  to  support 
a  good  forest  growth.  The  rocks  of  the  Blue  Ridge  Belt  are  more 
varied  and  difficult  of  classification.  They  are  in  large  part  igneous 
and  metamorphic — granites,  gneisses,  schists,  and  quartzites. 
Their  great  age  and  long  weathering  have  resulted  in  the  formation 
of  a  soil  which  while  very  deep  in  places  is,  when  exposed  to  the 
action  of  the  atmosphere,  peculiarly  subject  to  erosion.  The  rocks 
of  the  Greater  Appalachian  Valley  are  largely  of  sedimentary 

^"For  purposes  of  soil  classification,  the  United  States  has  been  divided  into 
thirteen  soil  provinces  and  regions,  the  soil  region  being  more  inclusive  and  em- 
bracing an  area  which  may  for  further  study  be  resolved  into  several  soil  provinces. 
A  soil  province  is  defined  as  'an  area  having  the  same  general  physiographic  ex- 
pression, in  which  the  soils  have  been  produced  by  the  same  forces  or  groups  of 
forces,  and  throughout  which  each  rock  or  soil  material  yields  to  equal  forces  equal 
results.'  " — United  States  Department  of  Agriculture,  Bureau  of  Soils,  Bulletin  No. 
96:  Soils  of  the  United  States,  pp.  7-8.     1913. 

2  The  first  also  includes  the  eastern  and  western  belts  of  the  Appalachian  Province 
in  Pennsylvania,  the  Onachitaand  Boston  Mountain  region  of  the  Ozark  uplift  west 
of  the  Mississippi  River,  and  the  area  of  coal  measure  rocks  in  western  Kentucky  and 
southern  Indiana.  The  second  also  includes  the  Central  Basin  of  Tennessee  and  the 
Bluegrass  region  of  Kentucky. 

246 


RESOURCES   OF   THE   MOUNTAIN    COUNTRY 

origin.  Unlike  the  valleys  of  the  belts  to  east  and  west,  which  have 
been  formed  by  the  leveling  action  of  streams,  the  valley  character 
of  this  belt  is  due  to  the  rapid  weathering  of  soft  limestones  and 
shales,  the  resistant  sandstones  and  conglomerates  being  left  as 
long  ridges  in  the  Valley. 

There  is  little  question  in  the  minds  of  most  people  as  to  the 
agricultural  possibilities  of  the  soils  of  the  valley  sections  of  the 
Greater  Appalachian  Valley,  but  to  some  the  topography  and  soils 
of  the  adjoining  belts — the  Allegheny-Cumberland  and  the  Blue 
Ridge — present  insuperable  obstacles  to  any  extensive  agricultural 
development. 

During  the  seasons  of  1904  and  1905,  under  the  direction  of  the 
United  States  Geological  Survey,  an  examination  was  made  of  the 
Southern  Appalachian  region,  and  in  1907  of  the  Monongahela 
Basin  in  West  Virginia  and  Pennsylvania,  for  the  purpose  of  study- 
ing the  effect  of  deforestation  and  consequent  erosion  of  the  steep 
mountain  slopes  on  geologic,  hydrologic,  and  economic  conditions 
both  in  the  mountain  region  itself  and  in  the  surrounding  areas 
through  which  the  many  streams  that  rise  in  the  high  Appalachians 
flow  on  their  way  to  the  Mississippi,  the  Gulf,  or  the  Atlantic.  An 
area  comprising  some  35,000  square  miles,  including  parts  of  south- 
western Virginia,  the  eastern  borders  of  Tennessee,  the  western 
part  of  North  Carolina,  the  northwestern  part  of  South  Carolina, 
the  northern  part  of  Georgia,  and  a  portion  of  northeastern  Ala- 
bama, was  examined  in  detail.  A  cursory  examination  was  also 
made  of  an  additional  area  of  15,000  square  miles  likewise  in  the 
Southern  Appalachians.  The  following  is  quoted  from  the  report 
of  these  surveys: 

The  clearing  of  virgin  forests  for  agriculture  is  going  on  steadily 
from  year  to  year  to  replace  worn-out,  eroded,  and  abandoned 
lands.  When  the  region  was  settled,  the  more  level  lands  along 
and  near  the  streams  were  first  cleared  and  those  that  have 
been  properly  cared  for  and  out  of  the  reach  of  the  stream  floods 
have  remained  in  cultivation  and  are  in  good  condition  today. 
After  these  lands  had  been  largely  cleared  the  steeper  slopes 
were  next  invaded  by  the  axman,  and  then  still  steeper  slopes, 
so  that  very  much  of  the  land  now  being  cleared  is  too  steep 
for  cultivation  under  present  farm  practice  and  should  be  kept 
in  forests. 

247 


THE  SOUTHERN  HIGHLANDER 

Numerous  attempts  have  been  made  to  estimate  the  per- 
centage of  the  area  of  these  mountains  that  might  safely  and 
profitably  be  cleared  for  cultivation.  These  estimates  average 
about  1 5  per  cent.  It  is  difficult  to  give  any  definite  idea  of  such 
area,  for  the  allowable  limit  of  slope  of  lands  that  may  be  safely 
cleared — which  is  generally  put  at  lo  degrees  and  which  alone 
has  usually  been  considered — is  not  the  only  factor  of  the  prob- 
lem, for  the  nature  of  the  soil,  which  is  dependent  on  the  geology 
of  the  underlying  rock  formations,  and  the  intelligence  and 
care  of  the  cultivator  should  also  be  considered.  On  some  soils 
10  degrees  may  be  the  maximum  slope  for  safe  cultivation;  on 
other  soils  slopes  of  20  degrees  do  not  wash.  Slopes  themselves 
may  be  changed  by  terracing,  and  education  may  so  greatly  in- 
crease the  intelligence  and  care  of  the  cultivator  that  estimates 
of  cultivable  area  that  consider  these  varying  factors  must  of 
necessity  vary,  and  the  variation  tends  to  increase  the  estimate 
of  cultivable  area  as  time  passes.  The  increase,  however,  must 
be  slow,  and  for  present  methods  of  cultivation  18  to  20  per 
cent  is  probably  a  liberal  estimate  for  the  area  that  may  be 
cleared  safely.  The  present  area,  24  per  cent,  is  undoubtedly  in 
excess  of  the  limit  of  safety  under  the  existing  conditions  of 
agriculture.^ 

As  to  the  agricultural  problem  of  the  region,  we  quote  from  the 
same  source: 

The  agricultural  problem  involves  the  selection  of  the  areas 
best  suited  for  agriculture  because  of  fertility  of  soil  and  mod- 
erate slope  of  surface  and  the  study  of  the  ways  in  which  such 
areas  may  best  be  handled  to  prevent  their  destruction  through 
erosion  and  the  destruction  of  other  lands  and  property  by  the 
waste  they  yield  and  the  floods  they  help  to  generate. 

Much  of  the  mountain  area  is  properly  agricultural  land,  and 
as  the  population  increases  more  and  more  of  this  area  must  be 
brought  under  cultivation.  This  means  that  steeper  and  steeper 
slopes  must  be  cleared,  and  that  danger  of  erosion  must  increase 
unless  improved  methods  of  agriculture  are  introduced.  Terrac- 
ing, contour  plowing  and  ditching,  crop  rotation,  sodding  to 
pasture  or  meadow,  as  well  as  the  crops  best  adapted  to  the 
region,  especially  those  most  helpful  in  holding  soil  on  steep 
slopes,  should  be  studied,  and  to  be  of  practical  value,  this  study 
must  consider  all  these  things  as  they  are  directly  related  to  the 

1  Glenn,  Leonidas  Chalmers:  Denudation  and  Erosion  in  the  Southern  Appa- 
lachian Region  and  the  Monongahela  Basin,  pp.  1 1-12.  United  States  Geological 
Survey,  Professional  Paper  72,  Washington,  Government,  1911. 

248 


RESOURCES   OF   THE    MOUNTAIN   COUNTRY 

specific  and  sometimes  peculiar  climatic,  rainfall,  soil,  slope, 
labor,  and  other  natural  and  economic  conditions  in  the  region. 
It  can  not  profitably  be  a  long-range  or  general  study. 

The  study  of  the  agricultural  problem  should  also  include  a 
consideration  of  practicable  methods  of  reclaiming  eroded  and 
abandoned  lands,  and  of  the  effectiveness  of  brush,  straw,  or 
other  filling  for  gullies,  or  brush,  log,  or  rock  dams  across  them, 
and  of  tree,  vine,  or  other  vegetative  covering  for  bare  areas. 
Such  a  study  should  also  include  a  consideration  of  methods  of 
regulating  and  restraining  both  the  wild  headwaters  or  torrent 
reaches,  and  the  lower,  but  still  rapid  and  easily  changeable 
courses  of  the  mountain  streams  along  whose  banks  lie  the  most 
fertile  agricultural  lands  of  the  region — lands  that  are  now  at 
the  mercy  of  their  uncurbed  destructive  activities  in  times  of 
flood. 

In  studying  these  problems  much  could  be  learned  of  Europe, 
where  for  hundreds  of  years  man  has  slowly  won  to  agriculture 
area  after  area  of  steeper  and  steeper  slope,  as  population  has 
pressed  hard  upon  subsistence.  Doubtless  the  methods  em- 
ployed in  Europe  should  not  be  exactly  followed,  because  of 
differences  in  climate,  crop,  soil,  labor,  and  other  factors,  but, 
warned  by  their  failures,  and  profiting  by  their  achievements, 
we  can  adapt  their  successful  methods  to  our  own  peculiar  con- 
ditions. .  .  .  The  agricultural  lands  of  the  Appalachian 
Mountains  are  generally  fertile,  and  if  wisely  handled  will  sup- 
port safely  and  permanently  a  much  greater  population  than  now 
inhabits  the  region.^ 

Inasmuch  as  the  statements  above  apply  primarily  to  the  east- 
ern or  Blue  Ridge  Belt,  with  its  bordering  Valley  and  Piedmont 
Plateau  strips  on  the  west  and  east,  the  writer  sought  information 
from  Dr.  L.  C.  Glenn,  author  of  the  report  just  quoted,  in  regard 
to  the  agricultural  problem  of  our  western  belt,  the  soils  of  which 
are  held  by  many  to  be  unsuitable  for  farming.  Dr.  Glenn's  reply 
forms  part  of  a  personal  letter: 

North  of  the  cotton  belt  on  Sand  Mountain,  Cumberland 
Plateau  section,  the  soil  though  thin  will  grow  good  fruit- 
apples,  peaches,  grapes,  strawberries  and  other  small  fruits; 
part  will  produce  field  crops  of  corn  and  other  grain,  especially 
along  the  flood-plained  streams  and  on  certain  shaly  or  cla\ey 
belts,  while  much  of  it  is  suitable  for  sheep  raising.  The  agricul- 
tural problem  is  by  no  means  a  hopeless  one — indeed  I  do  not 

^  Ibid.,  p.  30. 

249 


THE  SOUTHERN  HIGHLANDER 

feel  that  it  is  even  a  serious  one.  The  worst  part  is  that  adja- 
cent to  the  cotton  belt  margin.  As  you  go  northward  into  Ken- 
tucky and  on  into  West  Virginia  the  surface  topography  changes 
from  the  flat  plateau  type  to  the  deeply  dissected  type  with 
sharp  ridges  and  deep  narrow  valleys,  but  the  soils  on  these 
very  steep  slopes  of  Carboniferous  rocks  are  often  surprisingly 
fertile  and  they  do  not  erode  as  badly  as  the  equally  steep  slopes 
in  the  Old  Crystallines  of  western  North  Carolina.  There  are 
areas  of  poor  soil,  it  is  true,  but  such  is  far  from  being  the  rule. 
The  problem  of  whether  that  country  will  produce  food  for  its 
inhabitants  may  be  answered  affirmatively. 

The  problem  there  to  my  mind  is  to  fight  against  the  isola- 
tion nature  has  imposed  on  those  people.  You  probably  know 
how  steep  and  high  as  well  as  how  intricately  winding  the 
ridges  are,  and  how  cabins  perched  far  up  in  the  heads  of  coves 
have  an  isolation  that  is  painful.  This  tells  on  the  people,  and 
especially  on  the  women  who  stay  at  home. 

It  is  possible  to  approximate  the  amount  of  land  admittedly 
agricultural  within  our  territory.  Under  government  direction  a 
reconnaissance  survey^  was  made  of  the  non-agricultural  lands  of 
the  Appalachian  region  lying  south  of  Pennsylvania  and  within  our 
field.  The  centers  of  these  lands  are  the  more  mountainous  regions 
of  the  Allegheny-Cumberland  and  Blue  Ridge  Belts,  which  are 
the  roughest  and  wildest  of  the  principal  mountain  regions. 
Though  called  non-agricultural  lands  they  include  some  agricul- 
tural areas.  From  such  a  survey  on  the  basis  of  our  present  knowl- 
edge, it  is  of  course  impossible  to  determine  accurately  the  extent 
of  the  agricultural  lands  lying  within  the  non-agricultural  areas  or 
within  the  field  as  a  whole.  Furthermore,  it  has  been  seen  that 
lands  now  called  non-agricultural  may  become  available  for  culti- 
vation if  new  methods  adapted  to  environment  be  introduced. 
From  these  data,  however,  we  may  approximate  the  area  of  lands 
suited,  to  some  extent  at  least,  to  agriculture  under  present  con- 
ditions. 

The  total  acreage  of  non-agricultural  lands  as  indicated  in  the 
report  of  the  survey  is  23,310,000  acres,  or  36,422  of  the  1 1 1,609 
square  miles  of  our  territory,  leaving  75,187  square  miles  which  by 
inference   are    agricultural.      Omitting    from    consideration    the 

^  Report  of  the  Secretary  of  Agriculture  on  the  Southern  Appalachian  and  White 
Mountain  Watersheds.     Washington,  Government,  1908. 

250 


RESOURCES   OF   THE   MOUNTAIN   COUNTRY 

Greater  Appalachian  Valley,  which  is  agricultural  throughout 
most  of  its  area,  and  deducting  all  the  non-agricultural  lands  from 
the  areas  of  the  other  two  belts,  there  are  left  within  the  two 
upland  belts  49,710  square  miles,  or  31,814,400  acres,  with  agri- 
cultural possibihties. 

Under  present  agricultural  methods  a  hundred-acre  farm  affords 
a  family  support,  measured  by  existing  standards.  For  example, 
a  certain  mountain  farmer  whose  prosperity  was  somewhat  above 
the  average,  had  this  much  land  but  worked  only  about  ten  acres, 
the  yield  from  which  he  called  a  "one-man  crop."  Putting  about 
three  months'  labor  on  this  acreage  he  expected  to  produce  about 
200  bushels  of  corn  to  carry  the  family  through  the  winter.  Much 
of  the  remainder  of  his  holding  was  in  woodland,  the  residue  worn- 
out  mountain  slopes,  "resting." 

The  average  size  of  the  farms  as  reported  by  the  United  States 
census  of  1910,  appears  in  the  Allegheny-Cumberland  Belt  to  be 
a  little  above  and  in  the  Blue  Ridge  Belt  a  little  below  100  acres. 
Taking  1 00  acres  as  the  typical  size  of  mountain  farms,  our  estimate 
of  the  total  area  of  agricultural  land  in  these  two  belts  gives  us 
318,144  farms.  The  total  number  of  farms  in  the  two  belts  in 
1910  was  recorded  by  the  census  as  416,738,  or  98,594  more  than 
the  number  available  from  strictly  agricultural  land.  It  is  true, 
however,  that  the  ordinary  hundred-acre  farm  is  only  in  part  im- 
proved and  under  cultivation.  Were  farms  improved  to  their  utmost 
capacity  by  means  of  proper  adaptation  of  crop  to  soil  and  suitable 
cultivation,  many  of  the  present  farms  could  be  divided,  thereby 
increasing  the  total  number.  When  reinforced  by  agricultural 
tracts  in  the  areas  estimated  as  non-agricultural  lands,  but  capable 
of  improvement  by  scientific  methods  of  farming,  there  is  little 
doubt  that  the  acreage  of  agricultural  land  within  these  two  belts 
of  the  mountain  country  would  be  sufficient  to  support  a  con- 
siderable increase  of  population. 

With  right  influences  set  in  motion  there  should  come  about  a 
distribution  of  population  within  our  territory  to  the  better  agri- 
cultural lands.  Those  who  would  remain  necessarily  on  the  less 
promising  areas,  with  proper  training  might  make  them  yield  more 
abundantly. 

The  hindrances  to  agricultural  development  lie  in  the  disregard 
18  251  . 


THE  SOUTHERN  HIGHLANDER 

of  wise  methods  by  the  average  farmer.  The  topography  of  the 
country,  the  most  important  influence  affecting  the  soil  province 
within  which  most  of  it  lies,  has  been  generally  ignored.  Doubtless 
some  have  had  to  take  what  land  they  could  get,  despite  the  slope; 
but  many  a  mountain  farmer  of  the  past,  and  of  the  present  as 
well,  has  worked  against  rather  than  with  the  forces  of  his  environ- 
ment. As  long  as  he  could  supply  his  needs  from  game,  fish,  and 
the  virgin  fertility  of  the  soil,  and  as  long  as  he  could  obtain  more 
land  when  his  holdings  were  worn-out,  he  gave  little  care  to  the 
soil  itself .  In  fact  he  did  little  to  retain  the  soil.  With  pioneer  and 
characteristically  American  disregard  of  the  future,  he  girdled  the 
trees  to  "deaden"  them,  thus  furnishing  sunlight  for  his  crop.  He 
planted  the  crop  that  fed  him  and  his  stock,  namely  corn,  and 
when  the  virgin  fertility  of  his  clearing  was  impaired  because  of 
successions  of  the  same  crop,  or,  as  was  more  often  the  case,  be- 
cause the  humus  and  the  underlying  soil  itself  were  washed  away, 
he  would  "deaden"  another  field  and  plant  corn  again.  Scores 
of  such  "deadenings"  may  be  found  in  a  short  journey  through  the 
mountains,  the  stark  trees  still  standing  in  abandoned  and 
gully-furrowed  fields  as  sad  monuments  of  ignorance  and  neglect. 

Today  crops  of  corn  are  seen  on  slopes  so  steep  as  to  make  easy 
of  belief  a  fiction  writer's  statement  that  a  mountain  farmer  broke 
his  leg  falling  out  of  his  corn  field.  In  places,  especially  in  the 
northwestern  part  of  our  area,  where  the  plateau  has  been  minutely 
dissected,  the  mountain  cabins  are  clustered  in  deep,  narrow  val- 
leys and  overshadowed  by  steep  hills  cultivated  to  their  tops.  In 
some  places  it  seems  impossible  to  work  the  fields  even  with  the 
hoe.  One  mountaineer  who  owned  such  a  farm,  being  asked  how  he 
planted  and  gathered  his  crop,  gave  the  jocose  reply  that  in  the 
spring  the  seed  was  shot  into  the  hillside  from  the  opposite  slope, 
and  because  of  the  diificulties  of  harvesting,  the  corn  was  carried 
down  in  a  jug  in  the  fall. 

Even  in  large  areas  of  comparatively  level  land,  suitable  so  far  as 
surface  is  concerned  for  agriculture — such,  for  instance,  as  the 
Cumberland  Plateau  of  Tennessee — the  mountaineer  has  worked 
against  success.  He  has  been  wont  to  burn  the  underbrush,  thus 
destroying  not  only  all  the  coarser  grasses  and  the  seedling  trees 


252 


RESOURCES    OF   THE    MOUNTAIN    COUNTRY 

but  the  humus  as  well,  which  is  of  great  importance  to  the  texture 
of  the  soil  and  to  its  composition. 

Little  use  has  been  made  of  fertilizers.  The  amount  of  manure 
available  on  the  average  farm  is  small,  owing  to  lack  of  knowledge 
as  to  its  value  and  to  uneconomical  methods  of  storing.  What  there 
is,  moreover,  is  generally  utilized  for  the  garden  or  the  small  wheat 
crop.  Commercial  fertilizers,  when  bought,  often  in  small  amounts 
through  the  country  store,  are  a  fruitful  source  of  indebtedness. 
Sometimes  they  mean  a  mortgaging  of  the  crop  in  advance,  rather 
than  an  increase  in  profits.  It  is  simpler  for  most  farmers  remote 
from  a  market  to  clear  new  fields  than  to  try  to  improve  the  old 
ones.  A  newly  cleared  slope,  even  if  it  be  steep,  will  without 
fertilizer  yield  from  35  to  40  bushels  of  corn  per  acre  the  first  year. 
From  1 5  to  20  bushels  per  acre  would  probably  be  a  good  average 
yield  for  many  hillside  farms.  The  acreage  put  in  other  grains  is 
comparatively  small,  especially  on  hillside  farms,  and  the  yield  is 
lower. 

The  mountaineer  is  not  lacking  in  humor,  nor  is  he  blind  alto- 
gether to  the  futility  of  some  of  his  attempts  at  agriculture.  A 
friend,  thinking  to  buy  a  home  in  the  mountains  but  questioning 
the  title,  was  informed  by  the  owner  that  while  he  might  be  unable 
to  give  him  a  clear  title,  yet  as  some  evidence  of  his  right  to  sell  the 
land  he  could  show  him  the  grave  of  the  man  from  whom  he  bought 
it — the  man  having  starved  to  death  in  attempting  to  cultivate  it. 

For  the  future,  however,  the  care  of  the  soil,  such  as  it  is,  must  be 
the  mountaineer's  concern  if  he  is  to  maintain  himself  by  agricul- 
ture in  the  mountain  country.  The  crop  best  suited  to  a  specific 
locality  can  be  determined  only  by  study  and  experimentation.  In 
places,  especially  along  the  streams,  there  will  be  an  increase  in  the 
grov/ing  of  different  kinds  of  grains,  but  in  more  places  other 
staple  crops  better  adapted  to  the  respective  regions  should  be 
planted.  Much  of  the  mountain  country  is  peculiarly  suited  to 
fruit.  The  apples  of  Virginia  and  western  North  Carolina  have 
long  been  famous,  and  during  the  last  ten  years  there  has  been  a 
rapid  increase  in  orchards  in  these  regions  and  in  northern  Georgia. 
Peaches,  too,  have  been  grown  for  many  years  throughout  the 
Highlands,  although  the  crop  is  subject  to  frequent  loss  from  late 
frosts  and  has  therefore  been  replaced  in  a  number  of  localities  by 

253 


THE  SOUTHERN  HIGHLANDER 

the  apple.  Small  fruits  and  berries  do  particularly  well  in  the 
plateau  belt,  and  strawberry  culture  has  been  developed  very  suc- 
cessfully in  this  part  of  Alabama  and  Tennessee.  Potatoes  and 
garden  truck  in  general  are  also  adapted  to  certain  soils.  Legumes 
do  especially  well. 
\.  I  Transportation  and  a  market  are  vital  factors  in  determin- 
/  ing  what  to  plant.  Production  in  the  past  has  been  limited 
sadly  by  the  lack  of  them.  The  mountaineer  has  had  little  use  for 
what  his  family  could  not  eat.  In  very  many  places  still  where 
conditions  are  good  for  the  culture  of  fruits  and  vegetables,  only 
such  as  will  stand  the  long  rough  journey  to  market  will  return 
a  profit  above  the  costs  of  raising  and  transportation. 

The  activities  of  canning  clubs,  when  connection  is  made  with 
the  market,  are  offering  a  partial  solution  for  the  utilization  of  cer- 
tain products.  In  one  remote  mountain  section  the  canning  agent, 
a  community  worker  under  one  of  the  denominational  boards, 
induced  the  club  to  put  up  a  high  grade  of  the  native  blackberries, 
which  were  selling  at  that  time  at  lo  cents  a  gallon  when  anyone 
could  be  induced  to  pick  them.  These  canned  blackberries  took 
22  first  prizes  and  13  second  prizes  at  the  county  fair,  and  more 
prizes  at  the  state  fair,  at  the  Eastern  State  Division  Fair,  and  at 
Washington.  Through  the  state  university,  connection  was  made 
with  a  prominent  hotel  in  an  eastern  city  which  took  500  cans  on 
trial,  then  sent  for  3,000,  of  which  only  300  could  be  supplied. 
Another  state  sent  for  15,000.  The  girls  of  the  club  cleared  about 
45  cents  a  gallon  over  all  expenses.  In  a  similar  way  the  output 
of  tomatoes  of  another  canning  club  brought  a  fair  profit  to  the 
members. 

Much  might  be  done  with  grapes.  A  horticulturist  of  long  expe- 
rience has  proved  that  with  proper  care  they  grow  luxuriantly  in 
the  mountain  country;  and  he  points  to  the  demonstration  work 
done  by  the  Department  of  Agriculture  in  preparing  syrups, 
conserves,  preserves,  and  marmalades  from  the  grape,  as  sugges- 
tive of  the  way  in  which  such  mountain  produce  might  be  mar- 
keted. 

The  output  of  canning  clubs  would  not  be  able  to  compete  in 
the  open  market  with  the  large  commercial  product,  but  special 
brands  of  a  high  grade  will  find  a  ready  market,  and  there  are 

254 


RESOURCES   OF   THE   MOUNTAIN   COUNTRY 

larger  opportunities  in  co-operative  canneries.    The  drying  of  fruit 
and  vegetables  offers  another  avenue  to  market. 

Attention  has  been  called  to  the  practicability  of  growing  hardy 
shrubs  native  to  the  mountains  such  as  azaleas  and  rhododendrons, 
of  which  the  large  part  of  our  commercial  supply  is  imported. 
Bulbs,  too,  hyacinths,  tulips,  and  narcissus,  grow  as  readily  in  the 
mountain  soil  as  they  do  in  the  little  home  gardens  abroad,  where 
they  furnish  a  substantial  reinforcement  to  the  family  income. 

The  possibilities  of  tree  farming  have  not  yet  been  adequately 
tested.  The  Chinese  chestnut  grafted  on  the  chinquapin  gives  a 
fruit  which,  as  food  for  man,  and  also,  in  connection  with  the 
improved  persimmon,  mulberry,  and  acorn,  as  food  for  hogs,  has 
been  enthusiastically  advanced  as  a  solution  of  the  agricultural 
question  on  steep  slopes.^ 

As  yet  little  has  been  done  in  raising  goats,^  which  would  seem, 
in  steep  areas,  to  have  a  number  of  important  advantages  over 
cattle  as  milk,  cheese,  and  meat  producers.  Their  pasture  must, 
however,  be  fenced  and  wired  securely,  as  they  do  great  harm  to 
young  forest  growth  when  allowed  to  range  freely. 

Sheep  have  always  been  kept  in  small  numbers  throughout  the 
Highlands,  in  large  part  for  the  household  use  of  the  wool.  They 
might  be  very  profitable  in  large  numbers,  if  properly  cared  for 
and  if  the  Highlander  could  be  persuaded  to  reduce  the  number  of 
his  dogs.  Certain  sections  are  making  a  definite  publicity  campaign 
toward  this  end,  a  high  tax  on  dogs  being  advocated  and  in  some 
places  levied. 

The  raising  of  poultry  and  the  keeping  of  bees  also  offer  sources 
of  profit  in  the  mountain  country. 

A  large  part  of  the  more  rugged  mountain  region,  however,  seems 
destined  to  become  a  cattle  and  dairy  country.  In  sections  where 
roads  have  been  poor  and  transportation  facilities  few,  the  advan- 
tages in  the  past  of  raising  such  products  as  could  take  themselves 
to  market  is  obvious.  Hogs,  sheep,  and  turkeys  have  thus  been 
driven  to  the  railroad  for  many  years,  and  since  early  days  the 

'Smith,  J.  Russell:  "Farming  Appalachia,"  in  American  Review  of  Reviews, 
March,  1916. 

-The  Department  of  Agriculture  has  been  experimenting  with  the  crossing  of 
various  breeds  in  the  endeavor  to  produce  a  hardy  stock  with  a  high  milk  produc- 
tion.    Individual  experiments  are  also  being  made  in  various  parts  of  the  mountains. 


THE  SOUTHERN  HIGHLANDER 

grassy  balds  of  some  of  the  higher  mountain  and  some  of  the 
plateau  areas  as  well,  have  been  used  for  grazing  purposes,  the 
cattle  being  driven  later  to  the  lowlands  and  sold. 

Milk,  however,  has  had  no  local  market;  and  butter,  usually 
of  an  inferior  quality,  has  brought  but  small  return  even  when  it 
could  be  sold.  In  many  places  natural  pasturage  has  been  small 
and  it  has  been  generally  believed  that  grass  would  not  grow.  Silos 
were  unknown,  and  the  difficulties  of  raising  enough  grain  and  hay 
for  winter  feeding  have  been  very  great.  As  a  result  the  number  of 
cows  kept  has  dwindled,  and  they  are  allowed  to  go  dry  during  the 
winter  to  save  trouble  and  expense. 

That  certain  grasses  will  grow  freely  in  many  regions  formerly 
considered  unfavorable  has  been  proved,  and  the  possibilities  of 
co-operative  dairying  in  these  and  other  regions  where  there  is  a 
large  amount  of  natural  pasturage,  and  where  a  reasonable  amount 
of  some  forage  crop  can  be  raised,  would  seem  great.  The  initial 
difficulties  lie  in  arousing  the  interest  of  the  people  to  a  point  where 
they  will  improve  and  increase  pasturage  and  stock  and  will  trans- 
form their  independence  into  a  spirit  of  co-operation. 

The  United  States  Department  of  Agriculture  stands  ready  to 
help.  The  Dairy  Division,  in  co-operation  with  the  state  agricul- 
tural colleges  in  each  of  the  Southern  states,  maintains  specialists 
who  are  available  without  cost  to  the  farmers  to  advise  concerning 
dairy  problems — the  improvement  of  herds,  better  breeding,  better 
feeding  and  management  of  dairy  cattle,  construction  of  silos,  pro- 
vision of  feed,  butter-making,  etc.  In  some  of  the  states  specialists 
are  also  available  to  give  instruction  in  the  making  of  factory 
butter.  Efforts  to  start  co-operative  cheese  making  have  already 
had  far-reaching  results. 

The  history  of  some  of  the  co-operative  cheese  factories  which 
have  been  established  in  North  Carolina,  Virginia,  Tennessee,  and 
West  Virginia  during  the  last  five  years  reads  like  a  romance.  The 
first  of  these  factories  was  established  at  Sugar  Grove  on  Cove 
Creek,  Watauga  County,  North  Carolina,  in  191 5.  At  an  initial 
cost  of  $400  it  returned  almost  ^  i ,  500  the  first  year,  making  a  return 
of  more  than  ^1,200  over  the  usual  profit  on  butter.  The  second 
year  it  was  doubled  in  size  and  more  than  quadrupled  its  business. 
Other  factories  speedily  followed,  and  owing  to  careful  selection 

256 


RESOURCES    OF   THE    MOUNTAIN    COUNTRY 

of  favorable  localities,  all  have  prospered.'  The  expense  of  highly 
trained  cheese  makers  was  avoided  by  training  a  man  from  each 
neighborhood  who,  with  the  aid  of  the  field  agent,  was  able  to  man- 
age the  business.  Local  expense  was  lowered  by  the  elimination  of 
ice,  cold  springs  being  used  to  cool  the  milk.  The  use  of  the  by- 
product, whey,  to  fatten  hogs,  proved  a  further  source  of  profit. 
Among  the  many  benefits  which  have  followed  are  improvement 
in  agricultural  methods  and  milk  production,  farm  buildings,  and 
life,  and  not  least  the  spirit  which  has  grown  out  of  the  fact  that 
the  enterprises  are  local  and  co-operative. 

It  is  to  be  remembered  that  certain  requirements  of  altitude, 
coolness,  cold  springs,  and  so  forth,  are  desirable  for  successful 
cheese-making;  but  the  movement  is  one  of  great  promise  to  some 
of  the  mountain  areas,  in  certain  other  areas,  co-operative  cream- 
eries may  be  started. 

The  greatest  agricultural  possibilities  of  the  mountain  country, 
indeed,  can  only  be  realized  through  the  growth  of  the  co-operative 
movement.  Until  the  farmers  of  a  neighborhood  far  from  market 
join  in  some  definite  co-operative  undertaking,  or  can  agree  to 
raise  crops  best  suited  to  the  soil  in  such  quantity  and  of  such 
quality  as  to  bring  the  market  to  them,  the  efforts  of  the  individual 
farmer  will  fall  far  short  of  their  desert,  no  matter  how  excellent 
his  method.  This  failure  has  been  especially  evident  in  the  case  of 
isolated  orchards  in  the  mountains  which,  although  they  produced 
apples  and  peaches  of  high  quality,  could  not  command  railroad 
rates.  Wagon  loads  of  perfect  fruit  taken  to  the  railroad  have  been 
left  many  times  to  rot  at  the  track  by  the  discouraged  producer. 

Most  helpful  would  be  a  special  study  of  the  co-operative  soci- 
eties of  Denmark,  which  in  connection  with  the  educational  svs- 

1  "  In  1916  about  $30,000  worth  of  cheese  was  made  in  North  Carolina  alone,  and 
during  the  year  1917  more  than  $125,000  worth  of  cheese  was  made  in  the  34  fac- 
tories now  in  operation  in  the  mountain  districts  of  North  Carolina,  Virginia,  Ten- 
nessee, and  West  Virginia.  Fwenty-six  of  these  factories  were  organized  in  1916. 
All  have  been  successful  and  each  has  shown  a  rapid  growth  from  the  day  it  opened. 
The  cost  of  operation,  added  to  what  the  farmers  would  probably  have  received  for 
the  milk  if  there  had  been  no  cheese  factories,  would  amount  to  about  one-fourth  of 
the  gross  receipts;  therefore  it  is  fair  to  infer  that  three-fourths  of  the  $125,000,  or  a 
little  more  than  $90,000,  is  newly  created  wealth." — Doane,  C.  F.,  and  Reed,  A.  J.: 
"Cheese  Making  Brings  Prosperity  to  the  Farmers  of  the  Southern  Mountains," 
p.  8.  No.  737  Separate  from  the  Year-book  of  the  Department  of  Agriculture,  1917, 
Washington,  Government,  1918. 

257 


THE  SOUTHERN  HIGHLANDER 

tern  have  raised  that  country  from  a  small  poverty-stricken  nation 
to  one  of  the  richest  in  per  capita  wealth  in  Europe.  The  Irish  co- 
operative movement,  too,  which  under  the  leadership  of  Sir  Horace 
Plunkett  and  George  W.  Russell  has  triumphed  over  difficulties 
harder  in  many  ways  to  combat  than  the  topography  and  individ- 
ualism of  the  mountains,  furnishes  valuable  examples  of  what  may 
be  done  to  solve  local  problems  in  remote  rural  communities. 

It  is  impossible  here  to  enter  into  a  discussion  of  steps  by  which 
the  co-operative  movement  gained  its  foothold  in  these  countries, 
and  by  which  farmers  were  brought  to  see  that  only  by  combining 
could  they  effect  an  economy  in  the  buying  of  seeds,  fertilizer,  feed, 
and  expensive  farm  machinery,  command  a  credit  which  the  aver- 
age individual  was  powerless  to  secure,  meet  competition,  and  con- 
trol market  prices.  Nor  can  we  dwell  upon  the  many  kinds  of 
co-operative  societies — agricultural,  dairy,  poultry,  bacon,  home 
industries,  and  numerous  others — each  holding  itself  responsible, 
not  alone  for  marketing  but  for  the  quality  of  the  products  of 
its  members,  for  upon  the  quality  of  the  product  will  depend 
eventually  its  market. 

We  may,  however,  illustrate  the  power  of  the  co-operative 
movement  by  a  brief  mention  of  the  now  famous  region  about 
Dungloe  in  northwest  Donegal,  Ireland,  where  through  the  efforts 
of  Patrick  Gallagher — familiarly  known  as  "Paddy  the  Cope" 
from  his  interest  in  the  cause  of  co-operation — an  entire  revolution 
in  the  economic  life  of  the  region  was  accomplished. 

This  section,  described  as  one  of  the  poorest  and  wildest  in  Ire- 
land, a  region  of  rocks  and  bogs  and  little  cabins,  was  completely 
under  the  control  of  the  gombeen  man,  as  the  local  usurer  is  called. 
Seventy-five  per  cent  of  the  farmers  were  born  in  debt  and  had  never 
been  free  from  it.  The  people  were  intimidated  and  hopeless. 
Into  this  district  was  injected  the  co-operative  seed,  in  the  form 
first  of  a  co-operative  bank,  and  then  of  the  Templecrone  Agricul- 
tural Co-operative  Society.  The  instigator  of  this  movement  was 
Gallagher,  himself  a  poor  boy  who  had  left  the  country,  come 
under  the  stimulus  of  co-operative  leaders,  and  returned  to  try  the 
new  theory  in  his  old  home.  Beginning  as  a  tiny  store  in  the  hill 
region,  the  society  grew  and  branched  out  into  the  selling  of  eggs 
for  its  members,  Gallagher  meeting  the  aroused  hostility  of  the 

258 


RESOURCES   OF   THE    MOUNTAIN    COUNTRY 

bosses  with  fearless  strategy.  So  greatly  indeed  has  the  society 
flourished  that  its  members  now  control  the  producing,  buying,  and 
selling  of  most  of  the  necessities  of  life. 

Citing  this  instance  of  co-operation  in  an  address  delivered  to 
the  American  Commission  of  Agricultural  Inquiry  at  the  Plunkett 
House,  Dublin,  in  1 91 3,  George  W.  Russell,  or  "A.  E."  as  he  is  usually 
known,  the  "nature  mystic  and  poet"  as  well  as  the  "journalistic 
mouthpiece  and  champion  of  the  agricultural  co-operative  move- 
ment in  Ireland,"  continued: 

You  see  what  a  tremendous  advantage  it  is  to  farmers  in  a 
district  to  have  such  organizations;  what  a  lever  they  can  pull 
and  control!  You  will  understand  the  diflference  between  a 
rural  population  and  a  rural  community,  between  a  people 
loosely  knit  together  by  the  vague  ties  of  a  common  latitude  and 
longitude,  and  people  who  are  closely  knit  together  in  an  associa- 
tion and  who  form  a  true  social  organism,  a  true  rural  com- 
munity. 1  assert  that  there  can  never  be  any  progress  in  rural 
districts  or  any  real  prosperity  without  such  farmers'  organiza- 
tions and  guilds.  Wherever  rural  prosperity  is  reported  of  any 
country,  inquire  into  it  and  it  will  be  found  that  it  depends  on 
rural  organization.  Wherever  there  is  rural  decay,  inquire  into 
it,  and  it  will  be  found  that  there  was  a  rural  population,  but  no 
rural  community,  no  organization,  no  guild,  to  promote  common 
interests  and  unite  people  in  defence  of  them.^ 

It  is  the  belief  of  the  writer  that  the  people  of  the  mountains  and 
their  children  will  play  a  large  part  in  the  development  of  their 
native  land.  Within  certain  areas  men  native  to  the  Highlands 
have  already  demonstrated  their  ability  as  leaders  in  industrial 
progress.  Without  the  Highlands  men  of  ability  have  found  the 
mountaineer  who  has  left  his  own  country  a  worthy  competitor. 

If  the  belief  that  there  is  much  latent  ability  within  the  High- 
lands, needing  only  opportunity  for  training  to  become  active  in 
developing  mountain  resources,  be  an  unsound  belief,  the  resources 
yet  remain.  If  the  children  of  the  mountaineer  cannot  or  will  not 
develop  them,  others  will.  The  right  and  limit  of  possession  will 
eventually  be  determined  by  fitness  to  serve  through  the  use  made 
of  the  things  possessed. 

1  Reprinted  in  Rural  Manhood,  March,  April,  19 14. 
259 


CHAPTER  XII 
EDUCATION^ 

RURAL  problems  in  the  Highlands,  difficult  because  they  are 
in  such  a  degree  problems  of  intense  isolation,  are  made 
.  more  difficult  because  of  the  prevailing  illiteracy.  Those 
who  know  the  mountain  people  know  that  illiteracy  is  not  nec- 
essarily synonymous  with  ignorance,  and  that  an  ability  to  pass 
written  or  oral  tests  is  after  all  an  inadequate  measure  of  knowl- 
edge. If  we  accept  as  a  definition  of  education,  adaptation  of  life 
to  environment,  many  a  Highlander  would  compare  favorably 
with  some  of  the  college  graduates  who  have  come  into  his  com- 
munity to  educate  him.  Yet  whatever  the  defects  of  our  present 
educational  system,  which  seeks  too  much  to  shape  men  in  the  same 
mold,  it  gives  to  them  if  they  will  have  it,  the  power  to  break  away 
from  the  dominance  of  its  defects.  While  freedom  remains,  en- 
vironment will  not  conquer  easily  men  who  read  intelligently,  and 
who  have  the  initiative  to  prove  their  powers  in  the  new  ventures  of 
which  they  have  read.    They  learn,  too,  in  the  doing. 

The  illiterate  man  of  the  mountains  is  limited  in  his  knowledge 
to  what  has  come  down  to  him,  to  what  experience  in  a  circum- 
scribed neighborhood  has  taught  him,  and  to  what  a  chance  voice 
from  without  brings  to  him.  There  has  been  enough  of  struggle 
with  pioneer  conditions  to  make  him  self-reliant  while  those  con- 
ditions remain,  and  if  his  mountain  barriers  have  shut  out  many 
things  that  are  good,  they  have  also  shut  out  some  things  that  are 
evil.  He  has  not,  however,  a  wide  enough  outlook  to  give  him  the 
proper  perspective.  Like  many  an  individualist  elsewhere,  he  pre- 
fers to  learn  through  personal  experience  with  all  the  attendant 
risks  rather  than  from  the  accumulated  experiences  of  others. 

1  Much  of  the  information  contained  in  the  latter  portion  of  this  chapter  is  pub- 
lished separately  in  pamphlet  form  under  the  title:    "The  Future  of  the  Church 
and  Independent  Schools  in  Our  Southern  Highlands." — Campbell,  John  C:  Rus 
sell  Sage  Foundation,  New  York,  1917. 

260 


EDUCATION 

Consequently  he  must  pay  the  penalties  of  individualism  as  well  as 
of  illiteracy.  The  penalties  he  pays  may  be  the  growing-pains  nec- 
essary to  the  best  manhood.  Whether  or  not  they  be  so,  they  are 
less  painful  to  him  than  the  chafmg  bonds  of  conventionality.  But 
the  education  which  sufficed  to  meet  the  requirements  of  the  past 
will  not  suffice  for  the  future.  Conditions  are  changing,  and  unless 
the  mountaineer  be  prepared  for  the  necessary  readjustments  he 
must  fail  in  the  adaptation  of  life  to  environment. 

Though  not  a  fair  measure  of  knowledge,  literacy  is  still  the 
accepted  standard  by  which  the  educational  status  of  a  region  is 
judged;  and  of  necessity  we  employ  the  accepted  standard.  The 
United  States  Census  Bureau  classifies  as  illiterate  any  person  ten 
years  of  age  or  over  who  is  unable  to  write,  regardless  of  ability  to 
read.  It  is  to  be  regretted  that  the  extent  of  illiteracy  as  thus  de- 
fined must  be  measured  in  the  Highlands  by  figures  for  1910.  The 
efforts  of  state  and  county,  and  of  public-spirited  citizens  through 
moonlight  schools  and  educational  campaigns  of  one  sort  and 
another,  will  probably  result  in  lower  figures  in  the  1920  census 
returns. 

According  to  the  census  for  1910,  of  3,856,420  persons  of  ten 
years  of  age  and  over  within  our  Southern  Highland  area,  515,131, 
or  13.4  per  cent,  were  illiterate. 


TABLE   13. —  PER   CENT  OF    ILLITERACY    FOR    PERSONS    10   YEARS    OF 

AGE  AND  OVER  IN  THE  SOUTHERN  HIGHLANDS,  BY  RACE 

AND  BY  BELTS.       I9IO 


Belt 

Native 
white 

Foreign- 
born 
white 

Negro 

Total 

Blue  Ridge 

Greater  Appalachian  Valley 

Allegheny-Cumberland 

.3.6 
9.0 

I  I.O 

5.0 
12.2 
22.0 

331 
26.6 

26.9 

16.5 
12.4 
12.4 

'lota! 

1 1.0 

19.5 

28.5 

13.4 

Table  13  shows  the  percentage  of  illiteracy  in  each  of  the  moun- 
tain belts  for  the  three  racial  groups,  native  and  foreign-born 
whites,  and  Negroes.  It  shows  that  for  the  entire  mountain  region, 
1 1  per  cent  of  the  native  whites  over  ten  years  of  age  were  illiterate 

261 


THE  SOUTHERN  HIGHLANDER 

on  the  basis  of  the  census  definition,  while  19.5  per  cent  of  the 
foreign  born  and  28.5  per  cent  of  the  Negroes  were  illiterate.  The 
foreign  born  constituted  less  than  2  per  cent  of  the  population  of 
the  Highlands  in  1910,  but  the  Negroes  were  nearly  12  per  cent  of 
the  total.  They  were  sufficiently  numerous  to  materially  raise  the 
illiteracy  rate  for  the  general  population. 

The  relative  numbers  of  the  three  race  groups  must  also  be  kept 
in  mind  in  comparing  the  rates  for  the  several  belts.  The  foreign 
born  are  least  numerous  in  the  Blue  Ridge,  and  most  numerous  in 
the  Allegheny-Cumberland  Belt  where  their  illiteracy  rate  is  high- 
est and  where  they  constitute  about  3  per  cent  of  the  total  popula- 
tion. On  the  other  hand,  the  Negroes  are  least  numerous  in  this 
belt.  They  are  most  numerous  in  the  Greater  Appalachian  Valley 
where  they  constitute  over  18  per  cent  of  the  population.  Their 
illiteracy  rate  is  highest  in  the  Blue  Ridge  Belt  where  they  repre- 
sent 15  per  cent  of  the  population. 

The  general  rates  do  not  indicate  the  degree  of  illiteracy  existing 
in  many  remote  rural  areas,  where  the  foreign  and  Negro  elements 
are  negligible.  Thus  the  mountain  region  of  North  Carolina,  con- 
taining some  of  the  highest  and  roughest  areas  of  the  Blue  Ridge 
Belt,  has  a  rate  of  illiteracy  of  15.4  per  cent  for  native  whites  of 
ten  years  of  age  and  over;  the  contiguous  Blue  Ridge  Belt  of  Ten- 
nessee has  a  native  white  illiteracy  rate  of  16.2  per  cent;  while 
the  Kentucky  Highlands,  lying  wholly  within  the  Allegheny- 
Cumberland  Belt  and  until  recently  very  much  shut  off,  have  a 
native  white  illiteracy  rate  of  18.2  per  cent. 

That  the  illiteracy  rates  for  the  native  whites  shown  in  Table  13 
are  relatively  high  is  emphasized  by  a  comparison  of  the  rates  for 
the  mountain  regions  with  the  rates  for  the  total  population  of 
these  states.  This  has  been  done  in  Table  14  for  native  v/hite 
males  twenty-one  years  of  age  and  over.  The  rates  are  conspicu- 
ously higher  for  the  mountain  territory  than  for  the  entire  state. 

The  high  percentage  of  illiteracy,  12.2,  for  the  mountain  region  as 
a  whole,  as  against  10.6  for  the  nine  states,  or  3.5  for  the  United 
States,  probably  both  overstates  and  understates  educational  con- 
ditions in  the  Highlands.  The  rate  of  illiteracy  even  for  many 
rural  areas  was  undoubtedly  considerably  below  the  rate  indicated 
for  the  whole  mountain  area  and  for  the  mountain  regions  of  the 

262 


EDUCATION 


several  states.  On  the  other  hand,  the  average  rates,  as  has  been 
suggested,  do  not  indicate  the  extent  of  ilHteracy  that  prevails  in 
many  shut-off  areas. 


TABLE   14. — PER  CENT  OF  ILLITERACY  FOR  NATIVE  WHITE  MALES  OF 

VOTING  AGE  IN  THE  SOUTHERN  HIGHLANDS  AND  SOUTHERN 

HIGHLAND  STATES,  BY  STATES.       I9IO 


State 

Mountain  region 

Total  state 

Alabama 

10.6 

10.6 

Georgia 

13.8 

8.7 

Kentucky 

19.5 

1 1.9 

Maryland 

3-9 

3-4 

North  Carolina 

17. 1 

14.0 

South  Carolina 

14.1 

10.8 

Tennessee 

14. 1 

II. 3 

Virginia 

12.8 

9-7 

West  X'irginia 

7-> 

y-s 

Total 

12.2 

10.6 

As  an  example  of  the  wide  disparities  that  exist  in  different  parts 
of  even  the  same  regional  area  may  be  cited  the  Allegheny-Cum- 
berland Belt  of  Virginia.  The  rate  of  illiteracy  for  native  white 
males  of  voting  age  for  this  region  of  the  state  is  16.2  per  cent,  yet 
the  four  northernmost  counties  next  to  West  Virginia  range  from 
2.6  per  cent  in  Craig  to  8.8  per  cent  in  Alleghany;  while  the  four 
most  southwesterly  counties  bordering  Kentucky  range  from  16.3 
per  cent  in  Dickenson  to  34.8  per  cent  in  Buchanan.  The  four  in- 
termediate counties  range  from  12.9  per  cent  in  Bland  to  20.6  per 
cent  in  Russell. 

Similarly,  in  the  Blue  Ridge  Belt  of  this  state,  which  has  an 
illiteracy  rate  of  13.8  per  cent  for  native  white  males  twenty- 
one  years  of  age  and  over,  Greene  County  lying  among  the  spurs  on 
the  eastern  side  of  the  mountains  has  a  rate  of  32.0  per  cent,  while 
Albemarle  County,  which  adjoins  it  and  is  the  seat  of  the  State 
University,  has  a  rate  of  only  8.8  per  cent.  To  the  north,  Madison 
and  Rappahannock  Counties,  with  rates  of  15.6  per  cent  and  23.3 
per  cent,  lie  next  to  Fauquier  and  Loudon  with  rates  of  6.0  per  cent 
and  4.5  per  cent;  and  to  the  south  Nelson  with  a  rate  of  16.3  ad- 
joins Amherst  with  a  rate  of  8.6  per  cent.    The  rates  for  the  rocky 

263 


THE  SOUTHERN  HIGHLANDER 

plateau  still  farther  southward  range  from  10.8  per  cent  to  22.7  per 
cent.  Such  contrasts  might  be  multiplied  many  times  in  the  other 
states.  The  danger  in  drawing  conclusions  from  averages  would 
therefore  seem  as  great  as  that  of  generalizing  from  local  instances. 
When  allowance  is  made,  however,  for  the  diversities  existing  in 
different  parts  of  the  Highlands,  it  yet  remains  true  that  deplorable 
educational  conditions  still  exist  over  large  rural  areas. 

The  public  schools  are  generally  ungraded  and  with  the  excep- 
tion of  Maryland,  which  has  a  ten-months  school  law,  are  in  session 
from  three  to  six  months  only.  Often  local  conditions  result  in  an 
even  shorter  term  and  sometimes  in  none  at  all.  The  terms  depend 
upon  weather  and  crop  conditions.  They  are  not  always  taught 
through  consecutive  months  nor  by  the  same  teacher.  Buildings 
are  as  a  rule  one-room  structures  poorly  lighted  and  very  inade- 
quately heated.  Sanitary  provisions  are  quite  generally  lacking. 
Little  is  provided  in  the  way  of  equipment — in  places  not  even 
desks,  blackboards,  or  chalk;  and  as  pupils  are  usually  required  to 
furnish  their  own  textbooks,  the  supply  is  noticeably  deficient. 

Most  of  the  teachers  are  inexperienced,  untrained,  young,  and 
unformed  in  character.  Some  of  the  "  little  young  girls"  are  mani- 
festly unequal  to  maintaining  order  among  their  pupils,  who  have 
a  wide  range  in  age  and  size.  Few,  either  men  or  women  teachers 
have  had  normal  school  training,  and  a  large  number  have  only  the 
education  they  have  been  able  to  acquire  in  such  elementary  schools 
as  they  are  now  themselves  teaching.  In  many  of  the  remote  pub- 
lic schools  the  best  teachers  have  been  trained  in  the  church  and 
independent  schools.  Those  who  are  trained  remain  but  a  very 
short  time,  for  various  reasons. 

The  difficulties  in  the  way  of  securing  and  keeping  competent 
teachers  are  many.  Salaries  are  meager — too  small,  many  times, 
for  support.  In  a  Statistical  Study  of  the  Public  Schools  of  the 
Southern  Appalachian  Mountains  made  by  the  U.  S.  Bureau  of 
Education  in  191 5,  this  statement  is  made  about  salaries: 

The  median  of  the  county  average  is  ^237.  That  is,  in  108 
counties  the  average  salary  is  more  than  ^237,  and  in  108  coun- 
ties the  average  salary  is  less  than  $237.  This  figure  is  probably 
very  nearly  the  average  salary  in  this  region.  With  an  average 
term  of  112  days,  the  average  pay  for  a  teacher  is  therefore  very 

264 


? 


»r 


\\ 


^ 


■^j'r 


'7 


^  // 


V 


/ 


V5. 


^^ 


-W-r^j-rr.^ 


•i-T 


A  !  O  fl  0  3  a 


a 


I 


^SVLVAM»^ 


(^GrH 


->l    /,Beot^^^^' 


p.'    ^;eMLAf? 


\ 


unfiy\ 


nohtH 

0  u\^^  '^ 


c  /^  ^ 


NBURG 

lUTH 


:iOLlN  A 


THE    SOUTHERN     HIGHLAND    REGI' 

fH  BLUE      RIDGE      BELT 
^  GREATER      APPALACHIAN     VALLEY 
ALLEGHENY-CUMBERLAND     BELT 


--^^^- 


!.'n. 


i 


r 


il 


\ 


OH 


A  M 


EDUCATION 

nearly  $2  per  day.  The  nature  of  averages,  however,  is  such  that 
there  are  probably  many  more  teachers  who  receive  less  than 
^237  per  year  than  there  are  who  receive  more  than  that.^ 

There  is,  too,  a  strong  pull  to  Lowland  or  urban  areas  where  not  only 
are  inducements  larger  but  living  conditions  easier.  Moreover,  the 
shortage  of  teachers  which  has  existed  during  recent  years  in  the 
teaching  profession  everywhere,  is  felt  with  peculiar  keenness  in  the 
Highlands,  where  a  sufficient  number  of  trained  men  and  women  has 
never  been  available  even  for  such  communities  as  wished  them. 

At  a  conference  of  mountain  workers  in  1915,^  the  following 
statement  was  made  by  the  president  of  one  of  the  leading 
state  normal  schools  within  the  Southern  Highlands: 

In  the  three  years  past  [prior  to  191 5]  there  were  graduated 
from  this  school  [the  only  normal  school  in  the  mountain  section 
of  this  state]  about  200  teachers,  while  the  public  schools  in  the 
mountain  section  of  this  state  alone  demanded  the  services  of 
more  than  3,000  teachers.  From  700  to  1,000  new  teachers  are 
needed  each  year  to  take  the  places  of  those  leaving  the  field  of 
teaching. 

The  need  is  as  great,  if  not  greater,  in  the  mountainous  section  of 
some  of  the  other  states. 

Even  when  trained  teachers  are  available  local  officials  often 
favor  incompetent  local  applicants  in  preference  to  trained  appli- 
cants from  without  the  district,  or  at  times  when  their  judgment 
approves  the  application  of  outside  teachers  they  yield  to  popular 
clamor  and  poor  teachers  who  have  local  support  or  who  are  con- 
nected by  ties  of  kinship  to  influential  families  receive  appoint- 
ments. Small  as  the  salaries  are  there  is  frequently  great  com- 
petition for  the  positions,  which  offer  one  of  the  few  ways  in  the 
region  to  earn  money.  Schools  therefore  may  be  "cousined"  to 
death,  this  being  the  mountain  equivalent  for  nepotism.  Cases 
have  not  been  infrequent  in  the  past  where  a  term  of  from  three  to 
four  months  has  been  divided  among  a  number  of  teachers;  where 
money  has  been  paid  for  teaching  never  done;  and  where  teachers 
have  been  appointed  to  several  schools  all  supposed  to  be  in 

1  Frost,  Norman:  "A  Statistical  Study  of  the  Public  Schools  of  the  Southern 
Appalachian  Mountains,"  p.  19.     U.  S.  Bureauof  Education,  Bulletin  No.  1 1,  1915. 

-Third  Annual  Conference  of  Southern  Mountain  Workers,  Kno.Kville,  Ten- 
nessee, April,  191 3. 

265 


THE  SOUTHERN  HIGHLANDER 

session  at  the  same  time.  Such  cases,  however,  would  naturally 
occur  only  in  very  remote  areas. 

Occasionally  trained  teachers  are  too  progressive  to  suit  the 
notions  of  patrons  and  local  school  officials.  An  instance  of  the 
kind  came  under  personal  observation.  Two  qualified  mountain 
girls  were  placed  in  charge  of  a  large  mountain  school.  There  was 
every  promise  of  success  until  it  was  learned  that  the  teachers  were 
teaching  that  the  world  was  round  "contrary  to  the  Scriptures, 
which  say  that  the  corners  of  the  earth  are  the  Lord's!"  In  order 
to  drive  away  the  heretics  various  petty  persecutions  were  prac- 
ticed, well  water  was  defiled,  and  covert  attempts  made  to  blast  the 
character  of  the  young  women.  The  lack  of  orthodoxy  in  the 
teachers  was  the  argument  that  had  most  weight,  but  doubtless 
the  failure  of  local  applicants  to  secure  these  positions  was  a  con- 
tributing cause.  This  school  was  not  in  an  isolated  part  of  the 
mountains,  but  in  a  hamlet  on  a  line  of  railway  long  traveled,  A 
majority  of  the  school  trustees  sustained  the  teachers,  but  many 
of  the  former  patrons  of  the  school  looked  askance  and  withdrew 
their  children,  notwithstanding  that  the  teachers  were  themselves 
mountain  women  who  came  from  an  adjoining  county. 

The  situation  is  complicated  in  many  states  by  the  political 
nature  of  the  office  of  county  superintendent,  resulting  too  often  in 
the  election  of  men  who  have  little  knowledge  of  educational  meth- 
ods, and  who  through  their  anxiety  to  hold  their  constituency 
sometimes  show  favoritism  in  the  granting  and  grading  of  teachers' 
certificates  as  well  as  in  the  awarding  of  appointments.  Even  if 
the  county  superintendent  earnestly  desires  the  improvement  of 
school  conditions,  as  is  generally  the  case,  the  extent  of  his  field  and 
the  difficulties  of  travel  are  such  as  to  prevent  him  from  efficiently 
overseeing  the  teachers.  In  the  study  by  Mr.  Frost,  just  quoted,  it 
was  found  that  it  was  practically  impossible  for  the  county  super- 
intendent to  visit  each  school  oftener  than  once  or  possibly  twice 
during  the  school  year,  and  that  by  the  time  a  superintendent  had 
attended  to  the  work  of  his  own  office  he  was  fortunate  if  he  could 
spend  more  than  two  or  three  hours  in  each  school  during  the  entire 
year. 

A  detailed  study  of  school  supervision  in  seven  counties  in  North 
Carolina  was  made  in  191 6  by  L.  C.  Brogden,  the   Supervisor 

266 


EDUCATION 

of  Rural  Schools  in  that  state. *  Conditions  in  many  areas  of  the 
mountains  are  undoubtedly  more  extreme  than  those  found  in 
these  counties,  but  the  study  illustrates  interestingly  the  difference 
in  the  problems  of  school  supervision  in  rural  sections  and  in  the 
larger  county-seats.  In  Table  15  significant  data  from  this  study 
are  compared  for  the  white  schools  of  three  counties,  Buncombe, 
Forsyth,  Mecklenburg.  Of  these  counties  only  one,  Buncombe,  is 
within  the  Highland  region  and  this,  moreover,  is  the  seat  of  the 
only  city  of  over  10,000  inhabitants  in  the  Blue  Ridge  Belt  of  this 
state.  Forsyth  and  Mecklenburg  Counties  lie  just  to  the  east  of 
the  Blue  Ridge  Belt  in  the  Piedmont  region.  Data  are  given  for 
the  county-seats,  which  range  from  1 7,000  to  20,000  population,  and 
for  the  remaining  rural  portions  of  the  county. 

TABLE   15. — SCHOOL  SUPERVISION    IN   URBAN  AND   RURAL  DISTRICTS 
OF  THREE  NORTH  CAROLINA  COUNTIES.        I916 


Buncombe 

Forsyth 

Mecklenburg 

Ashe- 

Rest  of 

Winston- 

Rest  of 

Char- 

Rest of 

ville 

county 

Salem 

county 

lotte 

county 

Schools  per  superinten- 

dent 

6 

93 

7 

82 

9 

73 

Teachers    per    superin- 

tendent 

85 

167 

1 10 

140 

127 

164 

Per  cent  of  teachers  col- 

lege graduates 

52 

19 

60 

15 

85 

44 

Per    cent    of    teachers 

teaching  first  session 

3 

18 

10 

18 

2 

9 

Per    cent    of    teachers 

teaching  three  or  more 

years  in  same  school 

or  grade 

9 

1 1 

25 

20 

90 

>4 

Length  of  school  term 

in  days 

.85 

123 

180 

121 

180 

125 

Per  cent  of  total  school 

fund  spent  for  super- 

vision 

71 

2-75 

12.5 

1. 8 

5- 

2.1 

Area  in  square  miles  of 

superintendent's   dis- 

trict 

6.7 

639 

5-5 

376 

12.8 

597 

Commenting  upon  the  conditions  illustrated  by  this  table  Mr. 
Brogden  says: 

1  Brogden,  L.  C:  "More  Intensive  Supervision  of  Rural  Schools  in  North  Caro- 
lina," University  of  North  Carolina  Record.  No.  159,  p.  108.  October,  1918, 
North  Carolina  Club  Year  Book. 

19  267 


THE  SOUTHERN  HIGHLANDER 

Two  conclusions  seem  inevitable,  viz.:  (i)  that  in  the  present 
situation  the  country  child  is  not  receiving,  nor  indeed  can  hope 
to  receive  anything  like  equality  of  opportunity  with  the  city 
child  from  the  standpoint  of  having  his  school  work  properly 
directed  and  supervised,  and  (2)  that  while  the  average  city 
school  is  probably  not  spending  as  large  a  proportion  of  its  total 
school  fund  for  the  supervision  of  the  work  of  the  city  children  as 
their  needs  demand,  yet  the  county  is  lagging  far  behind  the 
city  in  the  per  cent  of  its  total  school  fund  it  is  now  spending  for 
the  supervision  of  the  work  of  the  country  child. ^ 

And  he  adds  that  until  the  county  puts  forth  in  the  form  of  local 
tax  for  the  education  and  training  of  its  children  even  approxi- 
mately the  same  amount  of  effort  that  the  cities  are  putting  forth, 
we  shall  continue  to  see  the  same  educational  inequality  between 
the  country  and  city  child  as  exists  today. 

Great  credit  must  be  given  to  the  public  schools  of  the  mountains 
for  what  they  have  done  to  teach  the  rudiments,  but  instances  are 
only  too  frequent  where  students  have  attended  session  after  ses- 
sion without  learning  how  to  read.  Because  of  inefficiency  and 
also  because  of  the  illiteracy  of  many  of  the  parents,  the  benefits 
of  education  are  not  realized.  Children  are  very  generally  allowed 
to  follow  their  inclinations  in  the  matter  of  school  attendance, 
which  is  therefore  often  irregular.  Moreover,  at  certain  seasons  of 
the  year  both  boys  and  girls  must  take  their  part  in  making  the 
crop.  Often,  too,  children  live  many  miles  from  school,  and  the 
state  of  roads,  bridges,  and  foot-logs  is  such  as  to  prevent  their 
going  regularly,  or  to  militate  against  their  going  at  all  no  matter 
how  eager  they  are  to  do  so.  A  small  percentage  of  children  have 
no  school  whatever  accessible. 

Under  all  these  conditions  the  question  of  compulsory  attendance 
is  a  serious  one,  the  more  so  because,  should  all  children  of  school 
age  attend,  accommodations,  equipment,  and  teaching  force 
would  rarely  be  sufficient  to  care  for  them.  Most  of  the  states  have 
some  kind  of  compulsory  attendance  law,  but  that  it  would  be 
difficult  to  enforce  in  many  remote  Highland  sections  is  evident. 
Obvious  hindrances  to  enforcement — scattered  population  and 
poor  roads  in  particular — also  stand  in  the  way  of  consolidated 
schools.    The  movement  for  consolidation  has  gained  rapidly,  but 

1  Ibid.,  p.  109. 
268 


EDUCATION 

in  certain  sections  the  natural  conditions  are  such  as  to  impede  and 
perhaps  entirely  prevent  its  progress. 

It  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  the  following  statements  apply  to 
the  average  conditions  in  remote  country  districts  throughout  the 
mountains,  and  that  exception  must  be  made  of  many  public 
schools  in  more  accessible  rural  areas.  The  causes  that  have  pro- 
duced these  conditions  were  largely  beyond  the  control  of  the 
Highlander,  and  the  initial  efforts  for  betterment  must  fmd  their 
beginnings  in  the  co-operation  of  leaders  within  and  without  the 
mountain  territory.  Good  schools  free  to  all  are  needed,  and  the 
two  great  means  by  which  they  can  be  attained  are  better  economic 
conditions  and  a  more  general  sentiment  favoring  public  schools. 

In  recognition  of  the  necessity  for  the  upbuilding  of  a  good  rural 
public  school  system  to  dispel  illiteracy  and  to  secure  better  ways 
of  living  and  of  earning  a  living,  federal  and  state  officials  have 
been  making  every  effort  to  provide  means  to  meet  the  obstacles 
that  exist  in  all  country  sections,  and  to  such  a  marked  degree 
in  the  rural  mountain  region.  The  press,  whirlwmd  campaigns, 
conferences,  and  institutes  have  been  some  of  the  methods  used  to 
arouse  and  educate  public  sentiment. 

Prominent  among  national  educational  measures  which  have  in 
them  possibilities  of  much  good  for  the  mountains  is  the  Smith- 
Hughes  Act,  which  "  provides  a  scheme  of  co-operation  between  the 
Federal  Government  and  the  States  for  the  promotion  of  voca- 
tional education  in  the  fields  of  agriculture,  trade,  home  economics, 
and  industry."  A  notable  example  of  recent  state  educational 
legislation  is  the  law  passed  by  the  General  Assembly  of  North 
Carolina  in  1919,  to  provide  a  six-months  school  term  in  every 
public  school  district  of  the  state. ^  A  tax  levied  and  collected 
throughout  the  state  is  to  be  applied  to  a  public  school  fund,  in  the 
disbursement  of  which  it  is  purposed  to  equalize  conditions  be- 
tween rich  and  poor  sections.  It  is  provided  that  a  fixed  proportion 
of  each  county's  school  expenses  may  be  met  from  the  fund,  but 

1  Other  special  enactments  of  the  General  Assembly  of  North  Carolina  in 
19 19  having  to  do  with  public  schools,  provide  a  minimum  salary  for  teachers  and 
maximum  expense  fund  for  incidentals  and  buildings,  compulsory  attendance  of 
children  between  eight  and  fourteen  years  for  the  entire  school  term,  provision  of 
two  privies  at  each  school  house,  physical  examination  and  treatment  of  school 
children. 

269 


THE  SOUTHERN  HIGHLANDER 

in  order  to  secure  this  assistance  a  county  must  first  levy  a  special 
school  tax  to  meet  the  remainder  of  its  school  expenses.  If  this 
tax  amount  to  35  cents  on  every  ^100  valuation,  and  funds  are  still 
not  sufficient  to  bring  the  school  term  to  six  months,  the  necessary 
extra  amount  will  be  supplied  from  the  public  school  fund  in  addi- 
tion to  the  amount  automatically  secured  from  the  fund.  The 
value  of  this  act  will  be  more  evident  if  we  may  use  the  illustration 
recently  given  by  the  state  superintendent  of  Tennessee: 

The  State  should  be  a  unit  for  educational  purposes.  Only 
last  year  did  Tennessee  have  a  state-wide  school  tax,  but  the 
law  added  that  the  money  should  remain  in  the  county  where  it 
was  collected.  That  was  because  we  did  not  recognize  the  need 
of  an  equal  chance  for  education  throughout  the  State.  The 
State  is  a  unit  in  production.  The  men  who  cut  the  trees  up  in 
the  mountains  are  quite  as  truly  employes  of  the  furniture  manu- 
facturer as  the  men  who  work  in  his  factory  in  the  city,  and 
their  children  should  profit  by  the  taxes  collected  in  Chatta- 
nooga as  much  as  the  children  of  the  factory  employes  in  that 
city.^ 

In  some  states  in  recent  years  state  supervisors  of  rural  schools 
have  been  appointed  whose  knowledge  of  conditions  and  plans  to 
meet  them  promise  much  for  rural  education.  Their  duties  are 
many,  and  bring  them  into  close  touch  with  all  existing  agencies 
for  rural  educational  betterment.  By  means  of  assistants,  demon- 
stration schools,  teachers,  and  school  officials — in  fact,  through 
every  possible  agency — their  purpose  is  to  make  the  whole  content 
of  school  life  more  vital  and  to  awaken  communities  to  wholesome 
activities.  County  supervisors  have  also  been  appointed  whose 
special  interest  lies  in  making  the  rural  public  school  not  only  the 
cultural  but  the  social  and  recreational  center  of  the  community. 

The  establishment  of  public  county  high  schools  is  as  yet  at- 
tended by  difficulties  in  many  sections.  A  law  passed  some  years 
ago  in  Kentucky,  calling  for  a  high  school  in  every  county-seat, 
was  found  to  be  premature.  The  chief  obstacles  lay,  then  as  now, 
in  the  fact  that  the  common  public  schools  of  the  mountains  which 
should  be  feeders  to  the  high  schools  were  not  and  will  not  be  able 

1  From  address  by  Albert  Williams,  State  Superintendent  of  Public  Instruction, 
Tennessee,  before  the  Eighth  Annual  Conference  of  Southern  Mountain  Workers, 
Knoxville,  Tennessee,  April,  1920. 

270 


EDUCATION 

for  some  time  to  fit  students  for  high  schools  which  are  organized 
on  a  state-wide  uniform  system.  Another  obstacle  is  the  diffi- 
culty of  securing  competent  teachers  at  salaries  dependent  upon 
local  taxation. 

It  is  evident,  indeed,  that  many  measures  which  have  in  them 
much  of  promise  for  the  public  school  of  the  future  and  for  which 
certain  sections  are  now  ready,  cannot  as  yet  and  probably  will 
not  for  some  years  become  effective  in  many  rural  sections  of  the 
mountains.  How  to  meet  the  present  emergency  becomes  therefore 
a  pressing  consideration. 

The  question  of  how  to  provide  in  the  best  and  most  speedy  way 
educational  opportunities  for  the  people  in  the  rural  Highlands 
is  of  concern  not  only  to  state  and  federal  officials  and  to  all  public- 
spirited  citizens  within  and  without  the  mountain  country,  but  is  of 
very  real  importance  to  a  group  of  agencies  already  at  work  in  the 
Highlands.  These  agencies  are  known  popularly  in  the  North  and 
in  the  Lowland  South  as  "mountain  mission  schools"  to  distin- 
guish them  from  the  public  schools  and  from  the  self-supporting 
or  well-endowed  private  schools  which  have  a  more  general  patron- 
age. The  title  "church  and  independent  schools"  is  more  appro- 
priate, however,  than  that  of  "mission  schools"  because  the  latter 
term  is  associated  generally  with  denominational  work,  and  a  num- 
ber of  the  most  influential  of  these  schools  in  the  mountains  are  not 
under  denominational  auspices. 

The  church  schools  are  conducted  under  the  auspices  of  denomi- 
national "mountain  mission  boards,"  of  denominational  bodies 
other  than  mission  boards,  and  of  individuals  or  groups  that  trust 
for  the  great  part  of  their  financial  support  to  the  denominations 
with  which  they  are  sympathetically  affiliated.^  The  independent 

1  The  denominations  maintaining  church  schools  within  the  Highland  region  are: 

Baptists,    Southern    Con-       Congregationalists  Presbyterian  in  the  United 

vention  Methodist  Episcopal  States 

Seventh  Day  Baptist  Methodist  Episcopal  Presbyterian  in  the  United 

Brethren  South  States  of  America 

Christians  (Christian  Associate  Presbyterian  Protestant  Episcopal 

Connection)  Reformed  Presbyterian         Reformed  Church  in 

Churches  of  Christ  United  Presbyterian  America 

Disciples  of  Christ  Seventh  Day  Adventists 

Data  for  1920-21  on  the  school  work  of  these  boards  is  published  in:  Southern 
Highland  Schools  Maintained  by  Denominational  and  Independent  Agencies,  com- 
piled by  Olive  D.  Campbell,  Russell  Sage  Foundation,  New  York,  N.  Y. 

271 


THE  SOUTHERN  HIGHLANDER 

schools  are  free  from  denominational  connection  or  control  but 
have  the  same  general  purpose  as  have  many  of  the  church  schools. 
For  convenience  the  two  are  here  considered  together,  although 
there  are  certain  differences  between  them,  especially  in  administra- 
tion. It  is  true,  as  a  general  statement,  that  the  independent  schools 
adapt  themselves  to  changing  conditions  more  rapidly  than  do  the 
church  schools,  and  that  a  number  of  them  have  from  the  be- 
ginning foreseen  the  needs  of  the  future  more  clearly  than  have 
many  of  the  church  schools.  While  some  have  been  under  the 
administrative  control  of  organizations  without  the  field,  the 
most  influential  are  those  whose  policy  has  been  determined  and 
guided  by  a  strong  individual  or  individuals  upon  the  field,  un- 
trammeled  by  outside  restrictions.  Their  weaknesses  arise,  how 
ever,  from  this  very  element  of  their  strength;  namely,  from  a  too 
great  dependence  upon  the  strong  characters  who  have  given  their 
impress  to  the  work  and  who,  in  the  mind  of  the  supporting  pub- 
lic, are  inseparably  connected  with  it. 

The  church  schools  as  a  whole  have  been  longer  in  the  field  than 
the  independent  schools,  and  have  followed  more  closely  the 
academic  traditions  that  prevail  outside  of  the  Highlands.  This 
is  due  no  doubt  in  large  part  to  absentee  control  in  shaping  policy 
and  management.  Like  the  independent  schools,  however,  their 
most  successful  work  has  been  under  the  guidance  of  strong  indi- 
viduals on  the  field,  who  have  been  long  in  control  of  local  work 
and  in  whom  non-resident  officials  have  had  such  confidence  as  to 
allow  them  large  liberty  in  developing  their  plans.  But  although 
some  of  the  church  boards,  under  the  able  leadership  of  non- 
resident officials  well  acquainted  with  the  mountains  are  shaping 
their  work  admirably  to  meet  changing  conditions,  yet  when  one 
views  as  a  whole  the  work  of  the  17  denominational  boards  sus- 
taining schools  in  the  mountains,  it  is  not  overstating  the  case  to 
say  that  the  church  schools  suffer  from  long-distance  control  and 
from  the  submergence  of  strong  personalities  familiar  with  the 
mountain  people  and  conditions,  under  policies  formulated  and 
usually  directed  by  officials  whose  point  of  view  is  that  of  an  en- 
tirely different  environment.  Nor  can  such  a  point  of  view  in  the 
very  nature  of  things  be  changed  by  infrequent  or  hurried  journeys 
through  the  mountain  country. 

272 


EDUCATION 

There  are  approximately  200  church  and  independent  schools 
in  the  mountains,  the  church  schools  outnumbering  the  inde- 
pendent schools  ten  to  one.  Some  of  them,  as  has  been  shown, 
began  their  activities  in  pioneer  days,i  and  many  have  existed  for 
a  score  or  more  of  years  and  represent  a  large  investment  in 
property. 

They  are  not  all  of  the  same  character.  There  are  day  schools — 
almost  invariably  of  elementary  type — boarding  schools  of  ele- 
mentary-secondary type,  and  a  few  colleges. 

The  term  "college"  is  misleading.  There  are  a  number  of  so- 
called  colleges  whose  name  is  evidence  of  the  hope  of  their  founders 
rather  than  indicative  of  the  work  being  done.  A  mountain 
"college"  may  combine  all  three  of  the  types  of  schools  indicated 
previously,  and  even  those  doing  four  years  of  college  work  with 
few  exceptions  have  preparatory  departments  that,  on  the  basis 
of  numbers,  place  them  in  the  class  with  boarding  schools  of  the 
second  and  preparatory  type.^  In  their  college  departments, 
however,  small  though  they  are,  such  colleges  attempt  to  do  good 
work  of  the  traditional  kind,  and  some  are  succeeding  admirably. 
On  the  basis  of  their  effort  to  give  mountain  boys  and  girls  the 
advantage  of  collegiate  training  they  constitute  a  group  to  which 
the  name  "mountain  colleges"  is  applicable.  Several  of  them 
maintain  special  departments  in  which  a  strong  effort  is  made  to 
adapt  education  to  mountain  environment. 

As  the  number  of  secondary  and  college  preparatory  schools  in- 
crease in  the  mountains,  preparatory  courses  will  be  eliminated 
from  these  mountain  colleges  which  will  then  be  likely  to  develop 
into  the  conventional  colleges  foreshadowed  in  their  collegiate  de- 
partments.    It  is  to  be  hoped,  however,  that  some  will  resist  the 

^  See  list,  Chapter  VIII,  p.  163. 

-  Data  are  taken  from  Campbell,  John  C:  Future  of  the  Church  and  Independent 
Schools  in  Our  Southern  Highlands.     New  York,  Russell  Sage  Foundation,  1917. 

Recent  data  indicate  that  there  are  some  30  distinctively  mountain  institutions 
known  as  colleges.  A  fifth  of  them  give  four  years  of  college  work;  a  third  are 
ranked  as  junior  colleges;  while  the  rest  give  more  or  less  collegiate  work,  with  the 
exception  of  two  or  three  which  offer  no  courses  above  secondary  grade.  The  data 
indicate,  furthermore,  a  decided  decrease  during  the  last  few  years  in  the  number  of 
day  schools.  A  score  or  more  of  influential  stations  at  which  such  schools  were 
maintained  until  recently  have  been  changed  to  centers  of  community  activities 
other  than  scholastic.  Other  day  schools  have  been  taken  over  in  whole  or  in  part 
by  the  public  school  authorities. 

273 


THE  SOUTHERN  HIGHLANDER 

temptation  to  develop  along  traditional  lines  and  be  willing  to 
evolve,  through  experimental  stages,  into  higher  institutions  espe- 
cially emphasizing  a  training  that  will  meet  regional  needs. 

The  day  schools  are  usually  small  and  are  situated  in  remote  or 
more  or  less  inaccessible  communities.  As  a  rule  they  are  regarded 
as  of  temporary  character,  to  be  abandoned  as  soon  as  the  com- 
munity can  supply  a  good  public  school.  Often  they  merely  sup- 
plement the  short  public  term,  under  arrangements  variously 
adapted  to  suit  the  locality.  A  common  arrangement  in  the  past  has 
been  for  the  private  day  schools  to  accept  the  public  school  funds  of 
theirdistricts,  with  the  agreement  that  they  would  teachafree  school 
for  the  three  or  four  months  permitted  by  the  scanty  public  funds. 
At  the  end  of  the  free  public  term  an  additional  "pay  term"  was 
supplied  by  the  church  board  and  financed  through  tuition  fees 
and  scholarships.  It  was  taught  sometimes  by  the  public  school 
teacher  and  sometimes  by  a  teacher  sent  in  from  the  outside. ^  By 
this  method  a  good  public  school  was  secured,  with  which  the  pay 
term  could  be  easily  co-ordinated. 

In  some  states  it  is  now  against  the  law  for  denominational  agen- 
cies to  administer  public  school  funds.  In  others  the  serious  ob- 
jection to  the  administering  of  public  funds  by  church  or  private 
groups  has  been  met  in  various  ways.  One  of  the  most  successful 
plans  has  been  brought  about  through  the  co-operation  of  a 
county  superintendent  and  one  of  the  church  boards,  represented 
in  the  community  by  a  local  worker.  By  mutual  consultation  and 
agreement  a  qualified  teacher  is  selected  for  the  four-months  pub- 
lic term,  and  when  this  is  over  she  is  retained  by  the  board  to 
complete  a  term  of  eight  months,  the  board's  payments  passing 
through  official  channels.  A  home  is  furnished  to  her  by  the  com- 
munity worker. 

1  Where  teachers  from  the  outside  have  been  employed  to  teach  the  public  term, 
the  mistake  has  often  been  made  of  not  insisting  that  they  fulfil  the  requirements  of 
the  law  by  taking  state  and  county  examinations  to  which  they  are  liable  when  they 
teach  a  public  term  supported  by  public  funds.  This  has  not  always  been  due  to 
unwillingness  on  the  part  of  the  teachers  (though  naturally  they  are  not  zealous  in 
the  matter)  but  because  the  examinations  were  held  during  their  vacations  when 
they  were  absent  in  their  distant  homes.  Moreover  there  were  often  no  provisions 
enabling  them  to  take  examinations  when  they  were  on  the  field,  and  sometimes  it 
has  seemed  that  there  was  little  readiness  on  the  part  of  local  and  county  officers  to 
accommodate  such  "foreign"  teachers. 

274 


EDUCATION 

But  while  similar  arrangements  provide  educational  oppor- 
tunities to  certain  remote  neighborhoods  and  solve  one  phase  of  the 
question  of  co-operation  between  church  and  state  agencies,  they 
do  not  necessarily  hasten  the  upbuilding  of  the  public  school.  In 
some  cases,  indeed,  the  presence  in  a  community  of  a  day  school 
under  church  or  private  auspices  would  seem  to  have  a  tendency 
to  weaken  local  initiative.  An  instance  suggested  is  that  of  a  cer- 
tain community  which  through  the  efforts  of  one  of  its  citizens  had 
begun  to  take  steps  toward  securing  an  adequate  public  school. 
Land  had  been  bought,  plans  matured  for  a  new  brick  school  house, 
and  even  a  kiln  built  to  burn  the  brick.  A  church  board  became 
interested,  and  feeling,  doubtless,  that  such  enterprise  deserved 
help,  offered  to  supply  a  school  free  of  expense.  Today  this  com- 
munity, which  is  able  financially  to  administer  its  own  schools,  will 
neither  vote  money  nor  contribute  to  the  support  of  a  good  public 
school,  although  the  church  board  has  withdrawn  its  help.  This 
instance  is  not  to  be  taken  as  typical,  either  in  the  circumstances 
under  which  the  board  entered  the  field  or  in  the  almost  complete 
paralysis  of  local  initiative.  It  serves,  however,  to  illustrate  the 
dangers  that  may  attend  a  policy  based  upon  a  real  desire  to  help. 

Much  can  be  done  in  various  ways  by  church  boards  working 
in  mountain  communities  to  foster  opinion  in  favor  of  improving 
the  public  schools  that  already  exist,  and  to  hasten  the  time  when 
church  day  schools  shall  not  be  necessary  as  substitutes  for  them. 
In  illustration,  an  experiment  may  be  cited  which  is  now  being  tried 
by  a  denomination  whose  day  schools  were  an  influence  in  awaken- 
ing a  desire  for  the  public  school.  When  the  time  seemed  ripe  for 
the  realization  of  this  desire  the  church  day  schools  were  closed. 
The  denomination,  however,  at  once  undertook  other  public  service 
and  nowmaintainscommunitywork  at  the  old  stations,  endeavoring 
through  public-spirited  men  and  women  to  develop  still  further  the 
self-reliant  neighborhood  spirit  which  was  manifesting  itself.  The 
different  communities  are  kept  in  touch  with  one  another  and  with 
the  outside  world  and  their  influence  widened  locally  by  a  corps  of 
workers— physician,  nurses,  agricultural  expert,  domestic  science 
teacher,  boy  scout  master,  pastor,  and  others — all,  as  it  were, 
circuit  riders  of  education  in  its  broad  sense,  serving  their  own  and 
other  neighborhoods  in  the  way  in  which  they  are  severally  pre- 

275 


THE  SOUTHERN  HIGHLANDER 

pared  to  serve  them.  As  ambassadors  of  co-operation  they  seek 
to  Hnk  their  respective  communities  together  for  the  common 
good,  and  to  enlist  the  aid  of  the  broader  civic  and  educational 
forces  of  county,  state,  and  nation. 

The  policy  of  this  denomination  has  been  to  abandon  its  day 
schools  when  districts  could  support  their  own  public  schools,  even 
when  such  districts  protested  vigorously  against  the  abandonment; 
and  its  policy  with  reference  to  community  work  is  to  bring  its 
many  phases  to  self-support  as  early  as  possible. 

As  an  outgrowth  of  the  influence  thus  exerted,  several  districts 
have  united  in  establishing  a  consolidated  public  school  at  one  of 
these  centers,  and  plans  are  under  way  by  the  board  to  meet  the 
educational  needs  of  those  beyond  school  age,  as  well  as  other  gen- 
eral needs^  of  the  community  for  which  provision  had  not  otherwise 
been  made. 

There  are  still  many  inaccessible  regions  where  topography  and 
poor  roads,  and  consequent  public  inability  and  inertia,  conspire 
against  even  good  one-room,  one-teacher  public  schools,  to  say 
nothing  of  consolidated  schools.  The  appeal  of  the  children  in  such 
regions  is  strong.  Probably  for  some  time  to  come  denominations 
new  in  the  field,  or  those  whose  work  is  just  beginning  to  be  cen- 
tralized, will  feel  this  appeal  strongly, ^  but  there  is  much  of  prac- 
tical value  for  the  future  work  of  denominations  which  still  support 
day  schools,  in  a  careful  consideration  of  the  wider  community  ser- 
vice to  which  reference  has  just  been  made. 

The  boarding  schools  include  1 17,  or  more  than  half  of  the  church 
and  independent  mountain  schools,  and  enroll  over  two-thirds  of 
the  total  25,000  students.  A  criticism  is  sometimes  heard  to  the 
effect  that  these  schools,  administered  largely  by  people  from  with- 
out the  mountain  region,  are  neither  desired  nor  necessary,  the  in- 

'  A  very  interesting  development  in  self-support  and  self-management  in  moun- 
tain church  and  school  activities  is  seen  in  the  organization  by  another  denomina- 
tion of  a  Highland  ecclesiastical  district,  composed  of  the  mountainous  areas  of 
several  states  with  authority  vested  in  officials  living  within  this  district. 

2  There  is  a  marked  activity  on  the  part  of  at  least  one  of  the  leading  denomina- 
tions in  establishing  new  day  schools  in  small  and  remote  communities  where  the 
public  school  of  the  district  is  difficult  of  access  for  the  children,  or  where  the  school 
term  is  so  short  or  instruction  so  poor  that  school  privileges  are  almost  negligible. 
To  the  credit  of  this  denomination  it  should  be  said  that  it  does  not  establish  schools 
except  at  such  isolated  or  inadequately  equipped  places. 

276 


EDUCATION 


ference  being  that  they  have  intruded  where  they  were  not  called 
for  or  wanted.  The  injustice  of  such  a  reflection  is  obvious,  the 
more  so  because  in  a  large  majority  of  cases  such  schools  were  estab- 
lished in  specified  localities  in  response  to  appeals  for  help  from  the 
locality.  So  anxious  have  communities  been  for  assistance  that  in 
order  to  secure  it  pledges  of  land,  lumber,  and  labor  have  usually 
been  made  in  advance.  The  reason  for  the  failure  of  many  of  the 
schools  to  hold  in  succeeding  years  the  enthusiasm  of  this  initial 
effort  are  many.  In  places  it  is  doubtless  due  to  the  incompetence 
and  short-sightedness  of  local  workers.  In  large  part,  however,  the 
cause  is  that  which  has  affected  rural  schools  elsewhere— the  failure 
to  adapt  education  to  life. 

Most  of  these  schools  have  followed  very  generally  the  type  of 
education  which  existed  without  the  mountains  at  the  time  of  their 
establishment,  and  which  exists  too  commonly  today  both  within 
and  without  the  mountains.  They  have  been  shaped  under  urban 
influences  and  under  the  preparatory  requirements  of  college  and 
professional  life.  A  number  do  undertake,  in  addition  to  the  regular 
academic  courses,  to  give  the  girls  a  little  domestic  science  and 
sewing,  and  the  boys  a  certain  kind  of  industrial  work  through  their 
doing  the  necessary  chores  about  the  property.  An  increasing 
number  are  laying  emphasis  upon  industrial  and  agricultural  train- 
ing and  on  home  economics,  and  a  few  maintain  more  or  less  ade- 
quate courses  in  agriculture,  dairying,  poultry  raising,  wood  and 
iron  working,  dress  making,  home  nursing,  and  general  home  mak- 
ing. The  expense  and  the  difficulty  in  securing  good  teachers  in 
these  subjects,  however,  have  often  led  to  ineffective  work.  More- 
over, such  work  is  considered  frequently  more  in  the  light  of  a 
method  whereby  scholarships  may  be  earned  than  as  a  training 
which  will  fit  boys  and  girls  to  live  better  in  their  home  environ- 
ment. 

This  scholarship  system,  it  may  be  said  in  passing,  if  not  wisely 
managed  acts  to  the  injury  of  the  pupils  for  whom  the  provision  is 
made.  Scholarships  are  solicited  by  the  school  and  usually  credited 
to  individual  pupils  needing  help.  The  pupils  in  turn  are  supposed 
to  "work  out"  the  scholarships.  Usually  the  number  of  such  stu- 
dents is  so  large  and  the  work  so  limited  that  the  student  does  not 
give  an  equivalent  in  labor,  and  the  school  in  its  endeavor  to  pro- 

277 


THE  SOUTHERN  HIGHLANDER 

vide  for  the  many,  increases  indirectly  its  own  expenses.  One  great 
need  at  present  is  some  provision  whereby  promising  students  may 
earn  their  education  without  being  pauperized  or  being  taught  that 
poor  work  or  insufficient  work  receives  recompense  equally  with 
work  done  well  and  thoroughly.  Some  schools  are  solving  the 
difficulty  by  refusing  to  credit  scholarships  to  specified  individuals. 
A  scholarship  provides  for  one  pupil,  but  all  pupils  do  an  equal 
share  of  work,  subject  to  limitations  of  age  and  ability,  and  are 
credited  with  payment  in  proportion  to  their  labor. 

There  is  need  of  greater  emphasis  in  all  schools  upon  the  various 
phases  of  work  that  fit  for  life  in  the  mountains.  The  location  of 
the  school  will  have  much  to  do  with  the  subjects  upon  which 
emphasis  is  laid.  But  schools  which  have  in  mind  in  such  work 
the  interest  not  only  of  their  students  but  of  the  region  within 
which  their  students  live,  must  demonstrate  the  worth  of  what 
they  teach.  One  cannot,  for  example,  expect  the  Highlander  to  get 
a  great  deal  of  practical  benefit  from  agricultural  instruction  accom- 
panied by  arduous  labor  on  a  poorly  managed  school  farm,  and 
often  farms  owned  and  operated  in  connection  with  schools  ad- 
mittedly have  not  paid  for  themselves  under  a  wasteful  system  of 
student  labor  or  poor  agricultural  methods.  The  failure  of  such 
farms  may  be  said  to  be  almost  complete,  whether  regarded  from 
the  point  of  view  of  school  support,  of  knowledge  acquired  by  the 
pupil,  or  as  a  demonstration  in  good  farming  to  the  community.^ 
Where  school  farms  have  paid,  it  is  usually  because  the  school  has 
been  so  fortunate  as  to  possess  good  bottom  land  for  a  main  crop 
or  is  itself  situated  in  a  rich  valley  area,  rather  than  because  of  its 
management.  The  value  of  bottom  land  or  valley  farming,  how- 
ever, to  the  average  mountain  student  whose  farm  at  best  will 
probably  contain  little  such  land,  is  questionable.  Students  need 
to  learn  what  crops  are  adapted  to  the  land  which  they  them- 
selves will  be  likely  to  own  and  till,  and  how  such  crops  may  best 
be  raised  and  marketed. 

In  a  similar  way  girls  need  to  know  how  to  prepare  well  the 
things  that  are  available  in  their  home  neighborhoods.     Unfor- 

1  A  few  schools  are  making  every  effort  to  improve  poor  land,  with  the  object  of 
making  a  demonstration  through  its  final  productiveness.  Such  land  will  not,  of 
course,  pay  for  a  number  of  years. 

278 


c 

I— 
-13 


< 


k:->>  '• 


f'"^.  ^  . 


.^-^ 


Bacon  from  the  School  Farm 


"A  certain  kind  of  industrial  work. 


EDUCATION 

tunately,  domestic  science  courses  in  mountain  schools  have  fre- 
quently left  out  of  account  the  materials  at  the  disposal  of  the 
average  housewife  or  even  of  the  school  housekeeper  if  the  school 
be  situated  in  a  rural  community.  Thus  there  is  often  a  wide  dis- 
parity between  the  demonstration  work  of  the  domestic  science 
class  and  the  food  served  at  the  school  table,  despite  the  fact  that 
the  preparation  of  some  or  all  of  the  meals  is  usually  a  part  of  the 
domestic  science  program.  Class  instruction  which  teaches  the 
use  of  foods  with  which  boys  and  girls  are  not  familiar  will  hardly  be 
helpful  when  such  foods  are  not  used  at  meals  served  to  the  stu- 
dents, or  when  they  are  monotonous  and  unsavory  or  entirely  out 
of  reach  of  the  average  dweller  in  a  remote  neighborhood.  Not 
only  should  class  work  teach  the  best  use  of  materials  at  hand  but 
especial  attention  should  be  given  to  a  balanced  and  varied  diet 
at  the  school  table.  It  is  in  these  two  points  that  many  of  the 
schools  fail,  in  part  because  of  the  manifold  difficulties  in  using 
student  labor,  and  in  part  because  of  lack  of  connection  between 
farm  or  garden  and  home-making  departments.  The  writer  re- 
members, for  example,  seeing  parsnips  and  oyster-plant  thrown 
out  from  one  school  garden  because,  he  was  told,  those  in  charge 
of  the  kitchen  did  not  know  how  to  prepare  them,  and  moreover 
it  was  believed  that  the  boys  and  girls  would  not  eat  them  if  they 
were  served.  Yet  this  was  a  school  where  the  table  was  sorely  in 
need  of  just  the  variety  and  elements  these  vegetables  would  fur- 
nish. 

Neither  can  it  be  assumed  that  students  will  learn  much  of  the 
value  of  cleanliness,  order,  and  thrift  when  school  premises,  build- 
ings, and  fences  are  ill-kept  and  out  of  repair.  Whatever  else  may 
be  said  of  the  Highlander  he  is  a  keen  observer,  and  instances  are 
not  lacking  where  he  has  watched,  listened,  smiled,  and  gone  his 
own  way. 

Another  cause  which  has  sometimes  affected  the  influence  of 
church  schools  has  been  an  undue  stress  upon  denominationalism. 
So  keenly  has  this  been  felt  that  it  has  even  been  contended  that 
church  schools  were  established  to  further  the  interests  of  the 
denominations  which  support  them.  Generally  speaking  this  is 
not  true,  although  one  or  two  boards  have  pursued  methods  which 
have  laid  them  open  to  this  charge.     As  a  whole,  the  schools 

279 


THE  SOUTHERN  HIGHLANDER 

have  been  remarkably  free  from  proselytism.  The  varied  per- 
sonnel of  the  faculties,  however,  has  naturally  included  some- 
times individuals  who  laid  more  or  less  emphasis  upon  certain 
denominational  beliefs  and  practices.  One  prominent  school,  for 
example,  has  for  many  years  required  its  pupils,  who  are  quite  gen- 
erally of  a  different  faith  from  that  of  the  board  under  which  the 
school  is  maintained,  to  learn  a  statement  of  belief  usually  asso- 
ciated with  that  denomination  and  to  contribute  toward  the  sup- 
port of  its  missionary  societies  and  the  services  held  in  connection 
with  the  school.  The  reasons  assigned  for  this  policy  were  that 
the  statement  of  belief  was  a  moral  code  which  would  benefit  any 
child,  and  that  all  young  people  should  learn  to  contribute  out  of 
their  little  to  the  support  of  the  church  and  to  the  need  of  others. 
Resentment,  however,  has  been  keen  among  the  pupils,  even 
though  the  content  of  what  they  were  obliged  to  learn  did  not  con- 
flict with  the  tenets  of  their  own  persuasion.  The  impression  be- 
came established  that  the  school  was  trying  to  change  the  native 
faith,  an  impression  strengthened  by  the  activities  of  the  same 
board  in  the  home  neighborhoods  of  many  attending  the  school. 

In  another  section  similar  methods  employed  by  the  principal  of 
a  church  school  were  a  very  potent  factor  in  bringing  about  within 
its  community  the  establishment  of  a  second  church  school  by 
the  denomination  predominant  in  that  region.  "They  have  pro- 
voked us  to  good  works,"  said  a  leader  of  a  sect  strong  in  the  High- 
lands concerning  another  sect  which  has  done  some  of  the  best 
and  most  extensive  educational  work  in  the  mountains.  Unfor- 
tunately, the  two  denominations  have  provoked  each  other  locally 
to  work  that  is  not  good.  1  n  the  case  last  mentioned  the  two  church 
schools  continued  to  compete  with  each  other  for  some  years,  and 
as  they  were  situated  in  a  county-seat,  in  course  of  time  they  came 
into  competition  with  a  county  high  school.  The  first  school  not 
only  had  the  right  of  precedence  but  large  property  investments 
and  was,  moreover,  the  better  school.  Both  were  better  than  the 
struggling  public  school.  The  situation  was  partially  solved  at 
length  by  the  withdrawal  of  the  first  denomination  after  a  futile 
attempt  to  reorganize  its  work,  but  it  was  not  until  the  com- 
munity was  rent  by  factions  which  for  many  years  will  impede  the 

280 


EDUCATION 

growth  of  a  healthy  community  spirit  necessary  to  the  proper  sup- 
port of  a  good  pubHc  school  system. 

Such  duplication  of  work  is  fortunately  not  common/  and  where 
it  has  occurred  has  not  for  the  most  part  been  long-lived.  It  is 
usually  evidence  merely  of  misdirected  zeal.  In  a  very  few  in- 
stances, however,  there  are  indications  of  shrewd  calculation  and 
sharp  practice.  Where  such  is  the  case,  jealous  local  constituents 
rather  than  the  authorities  themselves  are  often  most  at  fault. 

Difficulties  arising  from  denominational  emphasis  have  natur- 
ally been  fewer  in  the  case  of  the  independent  schools,  but  the  lack 
of  emphasis  in  some  of  these  schools  upon  evangelistic  methods  has 
led  to  a  strong  contention,  both  from  within  and  from  without  the 
mountains,  that  they  are  not  religious. 

It  would  seem  difficult  to  avoid  falling  upon  one  horn  of  the 
dilemma.  A  study  of  the  various  cases,  however,  suggests  that  the 
main  cause  of  criticism  arises  from  the  failure  of  a  school,  whether 
church  or  independent,  to  make  connection  with  the  life  of  the 
people  of  the  community  and  region  within  which  it  is  situated;  it  is 
not  acommunity  school.  A  solution  in  most  instances  would  probably 
come  if  the  school  were  made  a  real  part  of  its  neighborhood,  in 
which  all  people  of  all  denominations  and  interests  could  have  a 
share  and  an  opportunity  for  self-expression.  Some  criticism  of 
religious  methods  might  be  avoided  by  allowing  pupils  to  attend 
on  Sunday  mornings  the  church  of  their  choice.  In  the  afternoon, 
at  the  school,  vesper  services  might  be  held  for  which  special  music 
had  been  prepared  and  in  which  all  of  the  community  were  invited 
to  share.  Addresses  by  local  ministers  of  different  denominations 
would  tend  to  give  to  all  a  sense  of  personal  participation,  and  at 
other  times  ministers  could  be  invited  to  come  in  from  the  outside. 
Such  a  plan  would  meet  with  obstacles  and  would  need  adjustment 
to  local  conditions.     But  the  close  interrelation  of  school  and  com- 


^  Data  gathered  some  years  ago  showed  that  only  22  of  the  247  counties  in  the 
Highlands  exclusive  of  Maryland  and  two  counties  in  Alabama,  had  church  schools 
of  more  than  one  denomination.  It  is  probable  that  the  number  is  less  at  this  time. 
Only  three  or  four  communities  had  more  than  one  church  school,  and  in  two  cases 
it  is  known  that  one  of  these  has  withdrawn.  In  the  counties  having  a  number  of 
church  schools,  but  not  more  than  one  in  any  community,  there  were  a  few  church 
schools  near  enough  to  one  another  to  be  regarded  as  competitors,  but  usually  the 
roads  are  so  poor  and  the  country  so  rough  as  to  give  a  separate  field  to  each  school. 

281 


THE  SOUTHERN  HIGHLANDER 

munity  in  what  should  be  an  expression  of  the  highest  in  Hfe 
should  if  possible  be  secured. 

The  question  of  the  relation  of  the  boarding  school  to  the  com- 
munity within  which  it  is  situated,  raises  the  question  of  its  rela- 
tion to  the  public  school.  It  may  be  truly  said  of  these  schools 
that  they  have,  in  spite  of  their  weaknesses,  been  pioneers  of 
progress  in  the  mountains.  The  establishment  of  not  a  few  public 
schools  has  been  hastened  by  their  presence  and  their  activities. 
it  is,  however,  also  true  that  just  as  the  day  school  has  at  times 
stood  in  the  way  of  a  good  public  school,  so  a  good  public  school 
system  which  should  have  existed  several  years  ago  has  been,  and 
still  is  in  some  places,  retarded  by  the  presence  of  a  church  or  inde- 
pendent boarding  school.  As  long  as  there  is  in  a  community  a 
good  school  which  teaches  the  public  school  grades  and  has  better 
teachers,  better  buildings,  and  better  sanitary  provisions  than 
those  of  the  usual  public  school,  the  need  for  establishing  or  im- 
proving the  public  school  will  not  be  evident  to  the  Highlander. 
He  is,  as  has  been  frequently  observed,  a  good  trader.  He  may 
easily  argue,  if  this  school  from  the  outside  accepts  the  public 
money  for  teaching  the  public  term,  that  at  a  minimum  of  ex- 
pense all  the  children  are  having  better  educational  opportunities 
than  they  would  otherwise  secure.  If  the  private  school  does 
not  teach  the  public  term,  parents  who  can  afford  the  low  tuition 
(and  they  would  naturally  be  those  most  interested  in  the  main- 
tenance of  a  better  public  school)  may  send  their  children  to  it. 
The  other  children  will  certainly  be  in  no  worse  condition  than  be- 
fore. As  a  result  little  improvement  is  seen  in  the  public 
school  situation  in  such  communities,  and  instead  a  growing  ten- 
dency is  manifested  toward  social  distinctions.  If  the  church  or 
independent  school,  truly  anxious  to  be  of  most  service,  broaches  to 
its  patrons  the  question  of  its  withdrawal  and  the  possibility  of  the 
community  assuming  its  own  responsibilities  there  is  an  imme- 
diate and  strong  protest,  for  it  is  evident  that  such  a  procedure 
means  not  only  higher  taxes  but  lower  efficiency,  at  least  for  some 
time.  Moreover,  the  community  unconsciously  has  come  to  lean 
upon  the  school  even  while  it  may  find  fault  with  some  of  its 
practices. 

The  question  as  to  whether  in  a  certain  locality  a  specified  church 

282 


EDUCATION 

or  independent  school  should  continue  to  teach  the  same  grades  as 
are  or  should  be  taught  in  the  public  school,  can  only  be  deter- 
mined with  reference  to  local  conditions.  That  there  are  com- 
munities which  will  from  an  economic  standpoint  if  from  no  other 
be  unable  to  afford  adequate  public  schools  for  some  years,  is  un- 
doubtedly true.  It  would  seem  that  church  and  independent 
schools  situated  in  such  sections  should  make  a  careful  study  of  the 
natural  resources  and  foster  means  whereby  the  economic  side  of 
life  may  be  improved  and  the  community  lifted  out  of  the  "field  of 
missions." 

But  while  there  is  great  need  of  emphasising  far  more  than  in  the 
past  methods  of  securing  a  better  economic  life,  the  Highlander  can 
generally  do  much  more  for  the  support  of  good  public  schools  than 
has  been  supposed  either  by  outside  agencies  or  by  himself.  The 
truth  of  this  has  been  borne  out  by  personal  experience.  A  church 
board  which  supported  for  many  years  a  mountain  school  with 
which  the  writer  is  familiar  made  several  efforts  to  transfer  the 
responsibility  of  the  elementary  grades  to  the  community  in  which 
it  was  situated.  On  each  occasion  when  the  question  was  sub- 
mitted, the  townspeople  declared  that  it  was  impossible  for  them 
to  assume  the  expense  necessary  to  the  transfer  and  declared, 
moreover,  that  should  they  do  so  the  result  would  be  a  very  in- 
ferior school.  When  at  last,  however,  the  board  refused  to  carry 
the  lower  grades  longer,  the  community  rose  to  the  situation  and 
before  many  years  had  not  only  built  a  good  school  house  but  was 
able  to  afford  a  graded  school  which  compared  very  favorably  with 
its  predecessor. 

A  number  of  similar  instances  might  be  quoted.  It  is  possible 
that  a  close  examination  would  show  that  in  most  cases  the  public 
schools  were  not  entirely  comparable  with  the  church  schools  which 
preceded  them.  The  training,  however,  that  comes  from  an  effort 
to  assume  responsibilities  is  a  better  preparation  for  citizenship 
than  that  which  comes  from  leaving  such  work  for  outside  forces  to 
do,  even  when  it  is  granted  that  the  outside  forces  might  in  the 
beginning  do  it  much  better.  It  must  be  remembered,  too,  that 
great  changes  have  taken  place  within  the  Highlands  in  the  last 
ten  years — changes  destined  to  become  more  marked  and  rapid 
within  certain  areas  during  the  coming  decade.  Many  communi- 
20  283 


THE  SOUTHERN  HIGHLANDER 

ties  which  were  small  and  backward  when  the  church  or  inde- 
pendent school  came  into  their  midst  are  now  centers  of  popula- 
lation  more  or  less  active  and  flourishing.  Sometimes  this  has  been 
due  to  industrial  development,  but  often  the  presence  of  the  school 
has  played  its  part  in  the  material  progress. 

Of  the  1 17  boarding  schools,  33  per  cent  are  in  county-seats,  31 
per  cent  in  other  growing  communities  whose  importance  has  been 
increased  by  the  presence  of  these  schools,  and  36  per  cent  in  less 
important  places  or  in  the  open  country.  Thus  nearly  two-thirds 
of  the  boarding  schools  are  in  centers  in  which  the  best  public 
schools  permitted  by  present  circumstances  should  exist  and  from 
which  should  radiate  influences  to  establish  others  elsewhere.^  The 
general  arguments  which  are  advanced  to  justify  the  continuance 
on  the  present  basis  of  these  schools  at  strategic  centers,  despite 
the  fact  that  their  work  duplicates  in  large  part  that  of  the  existing 
elementary  public  school  and  the  proposed  high  school  curricula, 
have  already  been  indicated  in  part  and  may  be  summarized  as 
follows:  The  state  law  for  establishing  county  high  schools  cannot 
yet  be  put  in  force  in  most  mountain  counties  because  adequate 
funds  are  not  available.  Even  if  sufficient  money  were  available 
there  would  not  be  enough  students  to  warrant  the  maintenance  of 
a  high  school  because  so  many  mountain  students  do  not  receive 
in  the  elementary  public  schools  the  training  requisite  for  entrance 
to  a  high  school. 

These  arguments  seem  to  be  put  forward  by  church  and  inde- 
pendent schools  which  maintain  only  elementary  courses  as  well 
as  by  those  maintaining  high  school  courses,  their  object  being  to 
make  sure  that  pupils  shall  be  thoroughly  prepared  in  elementary 
schools  before  entering  high  school.  If  one  has  in  view  primarily 
the  interests  of  the  individual  pupil,  and  secondarily  the  larger 
community  and  regional  needs,  the  arguments  find  some  justi- 
fication. 


^  Only  two  of  the  county-seats  in  which  boarding  schools  are  located  are  above  the 
urban  minimum  of  2,500  population;  of  the  others,  5  are  under 2, 500 inhabitants 
and  over  1,500,  14  are  under  1,500  and  over  500,  and  1  5  have  less  than  500  inhabi- 
tants. Of  the  places  other  than  county-seats  in  which  boarding  schools  are  located, 
1  has  more  than  2,500  inhabitants,  i  has  less  than  2,500  inhabitants  and  more  than 
1,500,  4  have  less  than  1,500  and  more  than  300,  and  30  have  from  300  to  150  in- 
habitants. 


284 


EDUCATION 

The  mountain  work  of  the  past,  however,  has  been  based  too 
much  upon  the  need  of  the  individual.  It  is  difficult  for  one  who 
has  not  been  a  mountain  teacher  to  understand  the  appeal  of  these 
young  people  with  their  eager  eyes  and  thirsty  minds.  The  stories 
of  the  rapid  progress  of  many  of  the  boys  and  girls  in  spite  of  the 
limitations  of  early  environment  and  poverty  are  worthy  to  rank 
among  the  accomplishments  of  great  men  of  the  day.  But  in  help- 
ing the  individual,  sight  has  been  lost  of  the  community  in  which 
the  individual  dwelt. 

It  must  not  be  assumed  that  those  in  charge  of  mountain  schools 
have  been  consciously  neglectful  of  community  and  regional  needs. 
They  provide  for  them  theoretically  on  the  assumption  that  the 
promising  students  whom  they  train  will  after  graduation  settle  in 
mountain  communities  as  leaders  of  their  own  people.  Like  all 
theories,  this  one  has  its  strength  and  its  weakness.  The  great 
weakness,  as  proved  by  practice,  is  that  leaders  so  trained,  with 
rare  exceptions,  do  not  go  back  to  become  leaders  in  the  mountains. 
The  fault  has  not  been  that  of  the  church  boards.  Our  school  sys- 
tem has  been  such  as  to  train  away  from  the  country  rather  than 
to  train  for  leadership  in  the  country. 

It  is  probable  that  the  pupils  who  have  attended  practical  short 
courses  available  at  a  few  mountain  institutions  have  more  often 
remained  in  the  mountains.  They  have  received  a  vision  less  wide, 
it  is  true,  than  would  have  been  theirs  had  they  completed  the 
entire  school  course,  but  it  is  at  least  the  vision  of  an  ambition 
attainable  within  their  home  environment. 

Heroism  of  a  fine  kind  is  needed  in  a  student  who  has  felt  the 
limitations  of  mountain  life  to  go  back  into  the  mountains  to  give 
his  life  to  his  people,  after  having  had  a  taste  of  the  things  that 
he  has  not  had  before  and  to  which  his  education,  lacking  much 
that  is  practical,  gives  undue  emphasis.  Some  mountain  men  and 
women  have  had  this  heroism  and  have  returned  to  be  prophets 
without  honor  in  their  own  country;  others  who  would  gladly  go 
back  have  dependent  upon  them  younger  brothers  and  sisters  who 
can  obtain  an  education  only  through  their  efforts;  others,  in  re- 
ceiving their  own  training,  have  incurred  debts  which  necessitate 
the  seeking  of  remunerative  positions  without  the  mountain  coun- 
try. 

285 


THE  SOUTHERN  HIGHLANDER 

Those  who  are  famihar  with  the  pioneer  work  done  by  church 
and  independent  schools  of  the  boarding  type,  under  the  guidance 
of  men  and  women  devoted  to  the  interests  of  the  Highlands,  will 
not  fail  to  appreciate  fully  the  purposes  and  efforts  of  these  schools 
and  their  effect  upon  the  lives  of  individuals  and  communities, 
it  is  our  belief  that  hundreds,  even  thousands,  of  lives  have  been 
enriched  and  that  the  tone  of  many  communities  has  been  raised 
by  their  influence.  Whatever  their  shortcomings,  whether  resulting 
from  the  kind  of  education  they  have  supplied,  from  failure  to 
meet  changing  conditions,  or  from  duplicating  the  public  school 
curriculum,  their  sole  purpose  has  been  to  help  the  mountain 
student.  Persons  who  feel  that  this  can  be  done  best  by  further- 
ing denominational  interests  through  denominational  schools  for 
denominational  ends,  or  that  only  the  church  school  can  give  the 
best  preparation,  will  probably  continue  schools  of  the  kind  they 
have  maintained  in  the  past.  If  one  may  judge  from  experiments 
of  this  nature  elsewhere,  it  is  likely  that  a  few  will  develop  into 
denominational  academies  or  preparatory  schools  for  denomina- 
tional colleges,  but  that  many  will  disappear  as  good  public 
schools  become  more  widespread.  In  regard  to  the  independent 
schools  that  duplicate  public  school  work,  they  have  not  even  such 
justification  as  denominationalism  offers. 

To  those,  however,  who  realize  that  on  the  one  hand  these  two 
groups  enroll  but  25,000  pupils  annually,  a  large  percentage  of 
whom  remain  but  a  short  time  in  school,  that  the  number  of  grad- 
uates is  relatively  small,  and  that  out  of  this  small  number  a  cer- 
tain percentage  from  necessity  or  choice  leave  the  mountain  coun- 
try, and  that  on  the  other  hand  there  were,  according  to  the 
United  States  census  for  1910,  nearly  2,000,000  children  of  school 
age  in  the  Highland  country,  the  truth  is  forced  home  that  for  the 
mountains,  as  elsewhere  in  a  democracy,  free  public  education  is  a 
necessity. 

For  those  in  charge  of  church  and  independent  schools  who  rec- 
ognize these  facts,  the  question  resolves  itself  into  one  of  ways  and 
means  of  helping  to  bring  public  schools  into  places  where  they  do 
not  exist;  of  making  them  better  where  they  do  exist;  of  re-or- 
ganizing their  own  educational  work  from  time  to  time;  and  with- 
out interfering  with  a  public  school  system  ever  growing  better,  of 

286 


EDUCATION 


pointing  the  way  to  the  realization  of  higher  rural  ideals;  of  help- 
ing to  realize  these  ideals  through  developing  a  type  of  school 
which  may  not  be  possible  of  attainment  for  generations  in  the 
public  school  system;  and  perhaps  of  finally  working  toward  the 
ideal  of  a  better  rural  life  through  church  or  other  community 
activities  rather  than  through  purely  academic  ones. 

it  should  be  said  here  that  some  church  and  independent  schools 
are  greatly  helping  the  public  school  to  become  better  by  rec- 
ognizing it,  weak  though  it  be,  as  an  essential  link  in  the  educa- 
tional system  of  the  state,  by  not  competing  with  it  in  the  grades 
which  it  teaches,  and  by  supplementing  its  work,  but  only  until 
the  public  school  itself  is  able  to  include  these  supplementary 
courses  in  its  curriculum.  In  some  communities  the  question  of 
the  relation  of  the  private  to  the  public  school  has  been  met  by 
selling  the  plant  for  the  use  of  the  public  school.  Elsewhere  school 
work  has  been  given  up  or  not  begun  as  planned.  In  a  few  places 
where  public  county  high  schools  have  been  established  but  dor- 
mitories not  built,  the  somewhat  difficult  experiment  of  providing 
dormitory  conveniences  for  the  girls  and  establishing  courses  in 
household  science  has  been  tried  as  a  temporary  arrangement  until 
the  county  can  provide  for  these  from  the  public  fund.  Another 
form  of  service  undertaken  by  one  independent  school  is  the  em- 
ployment of  a  teacher  who  acts  as  an  assistant  supervisor  to  the 
county  superintendent.  With  his  co-operation  she  oversees  a 
group  of  public  schools  lying  within  reach  of  the  independent 
school,  helps  in  organization  and  equipment,  does  demonstration 
teaching,  and  stimulates  in  every  way  possible  sentiment  for  better 
public  schools. 

Other  plants  might  be  converted  into  rural  social  settlements  to 
undertake  neighborhood  activities  or  to  become  centers  of  study 
for  prospective  teachers  and  workers  in  more  remote  schools.  Such 
opportunity  for  observation  and  study  would  prevent  many  a  mis- 
take which  might  injure  the  school  with  which  the  innocent  of- 
fender was  connected  officially.  The  methods  of  the  social  settle- 
ment of  the  city,  working  as  it  does  with  Christian,  Jew,  Greek, 
and  the  unchurched,  would  need  to  be  adapted  to  mountain  con- 
ditions and  more  of  opportunity  given  for  religious  expression  than 
is  possible  in  the  city  with  its  varied  races  and  sects, 

287 


THE  SOUTHERN  HIGHLANDER 

Summer  schools  to  which  public  school  teachers  might  come,  ex- 
tension courses,  the  establishment  of  what  may  be  called  small 
extension  stations  in  communities  which  need  assistance  but  lie  too 
far  from  the  central  mother  school  to  profit  directly  from  its  activ- 
ities, are  some  of  many  other  ways  in  which  the  church  or  inde- 
pendent school  may  reach  out  and  touch  the  life  of  the  larger 
region  outside  the  community  in  which  it  is  situated.  Such  work 
would  be  planned  to  meet  the  needs  of  the  particular  community, 
but  in  every  case  a  prominent  end  in  view  would  be  to  foster 
sentiment  for  the  maintenance  of  a  good  public  school. 

Another  possible  field  of  activity  in  which  church  and  inde- 
pendent schools  may  aid  the  public  schools  is  suggested  by  the 
lack  of  good  teachers  in  the  rural  schools  of  the  Highlands.  A  few 
of  the  boards  maintain  normal  schools  which  compare  favorably 
with  state  institutions.  The  question  not  unnaturally  arises  as  to 
whether  they  might  not  further  help  to  meet  the  emergency  by  pro- 
viding teachers  for  the  elementary  schools  through  what  might  be 
called  junior  normal  courses,  adapted  to  meet  the  needs  of  students 
who  have  had  only  elementary  or  secondary  work.  In  making 
this  suggestion  we  do  not  lose  sight  of  the  fact  that  thoroughly 
equipped  teachers  are  needed  most  for  elementary  schools,  but  a 
condition,  not  a  theory,  confronts  us. 

Should  the  church  and  independent  schools  establish  supple- 
mentary training  courses,  something  should  be  done  in  addition  to 
counteract  the  strong  pull  which  tends  to  draw  student  teachers 
thus  prepared  away  from  the  schools  in  greatest  need  of  them. 
Most  of  the  church  and  independent  schools  in  the  mountains  pro- 
vide scholarships,  some  of  which  are  large  enough  to  meet  from 
50  to  75  per  cent  of  the  annual  expenses  of  a  fair  number  of  pupils. 
It  does  not  seem  unreasonable  to  condition  the  giving  of  these 
scholarships  upon  service  of  one,  two,  or  three  years  of  teaching  in 
the  country  schools  of  the  mountains,  with  the  promise  of  assist- 
ance in  securing  positions.  At  present  the  general  practice  is  to 
grant  unconditioned  scholarships,  and  some  schools  pride  them- 
selves on  having  carried  through  their  own  institutions  by  such 
means  certain  promising  students,  and  on  having  provided  "a  way 
of  permanent  escape  from  a  limiting  environment"  by  securing  for 
them  scholarships  in  higher  institutions  far  away  from  the  moun- 

288 


EDUCATION 

tains.  This  practice  in  particular  instances  may  be  justified,  but 
tiie  institutions  whose  work  will  tell  most  for  the  mountains  are 
those  that  work  out  practical  ways  and  means  for  the  welfare  of 
the  many,  rather  than  those  that  tend  to  retard  the  general  welfare 
by  robbing  the  mountains  of  gifted  or  exceptional  pupils. 

A  very  admirable  service,  too,  might  be  done  for  certain  classes 
of  pupils  and  for  adults.  Many  of  the  older  boys  and  girls  cannot 
attend  school  except  every  other  year,  or  but  a  short  time  each  year, 
and  where  families  are  large,  as  is  usually  the  case,  even  all  of  the 
younger  ones  cannot  attend  school  regularly  because  their  help  is 
needed  at  home.  The  amount  of  schooling  these  pupils  receive  is 
therefore  limited,  and  if  perchance  their  absence  is  necessarily  sea- 
sonal and  the  public  school  work  be  fairly  well  graded,  they  return 
to  take  up  the  same  studies  that  they  pursued  the  year  before. 
One  rural  teacher  within  our  knowledge,  though  not  in  the  moun- 
tains, has  met  this  situation  by  conducting  special  classes  for  sea- 
sonal pupils,  and  by  an  arrangement  of  studies  suited  to  the  need 
of  each  she  enables  the  student  eventually  to  complete  the  public 
school  course  in  less  time  as  measured  by  weeks,  though  it  extends 
through  more  years  than  the  average  school  course. 

in  the  teaching  of  adults  beyond  school  age,  as  well  as  the  many 
grown  pupils  in  the  mountains  who  feel  themselves  too  old  to  enter 
the  lower  elementary  grades,  may  be  found  another  fruitful  though 
temporary  field  of  service. 

Helpful  as  the  church  schools  may  be  in  assisting  the  public 
school  to  become  a  better  one  of  the  type  that  prevails,  their  greatest 
service  will  be  to  fmd  through  experiment  and  to  inspire  by  ex- 
ample a  new  type  of  school  which  will  serve  the  country.  This 
truly  rural  school  will  meet  more  effectively  the  economic  needs  of 
the  Highlands,  will  point  out  the  possibilities  of  a  richer,  fuller  life 
in  the  country,  and  will  impart  the  spirit  of  altruism  and  the  train- 
ing necessary  to  make  these  possibilities  real.  Economic  better- 
ment is  absolutely  essential  to  the  development  of  self-supporting 
social,  educational,  and  religious  institutions.  Church  and  inde- 
pendent schools,  as  well  as  public  schools,  have  failed  to  meet  this 
need,  even  when  they  have  realized  its  existence.  They  have,  how- 
ever, endeavored  to  give  the  vision  and  have  in  many  instances  im- 
parted a  spirit  of  altruism,  but  the  training  necessary  to  make  this 

289 


THE  SOUTHERN  HIGHLANDER 

spirit  effective  in  the  mountain  country  has  been  too  generally 
lacking.  They  can,  if  they  will,  realize  their  dream  of  thoroughly 
equipped,  altruistic,  rural  leaders  for  the  mountains.  The  effort 
to  make  it  real  is,  for  some  generations  to  come,  the  special  field  of 
service  for  church  and  independent  schools. 

For  those  who  would  undertake  this  special  service  there  is  sug- 
gestion and  inspiration  in  the  folk  schools  of  Denmark,  and  in  the 
adaptation  of  these  schools  in  Norway,  Sweden,  and  elsewhere. 
The  vision  of  Bishop  Grundtvig,  "poet,  priest,  historian,  reformer," 
of  a  school  that  would  regenerate  Denmark  and  the  history  of  its 
realization  are  well  known  through  many  recent  publications,  but 
its  application  to  the  rural  school  problem  of  the  United  States, 
and  of  the  Highlands  in  a  special  sense,  is  of  such  promise  that  a 
brief  review  of  its  outstanding  features  may  well  be  given  here. 

The  defeat  of  Denmark  in  1864  in  her  struggle  against  Germany 
marked  the  lowest  point  in  her  national  life.  She  had  lost  that 
portion  of  her  territory  which  was  richest,  and  much  of  that  which 
remained  was  poor  and  in  part  considered  even  worthless.  The 
farming  population  was  depressed  by  poverty  and  almost  in  a 
state  of  serfdom.  The  whole  country  was  exhausted  and  hopeless. 
The  wonderful  recovery  of  this  people,  the  rise  of  the  farming  class 
to  a  prosperous  life  and  a  dominating  share  in  the  government,  and 
the  growth  of  a  co-operative  system  which  is  an  inspiration  to  the 
world,  are  all  held  to  be  in  large  part  the  result  of  Bishop  Grundt- 
vig's  vision  and  its  application  by  Christian  Kold  and  others  in  the 
folk  high  schools  of  Denmark.  The  psychology  underlying  the 
folk  school  idea  is  expressed  by  Christopher  Bruun,i  its  champion  in 
Norway,  as  follows: 

Every  school  must  find  its  explanation  in  its  relation  to  the 
human  life.  The  life  of  the  child  is  characterized  by  beauty  and 
joy  and  faith,  and  these  should  be  preserved  as  long  as  possible 
from  the  care  and  worry  that  presses  the  race  into  the  dust. 
This  rule  must  govern  the  elementary  school.  Then  there  comes 
the  transition  period,  the  early  adolescence  when  the  boy  will 
be  anything  else  than  a  child.  He  wants  to  be  manly,  but  he 
succeeds  only  in  being  mannish.  He  imitates  men,  but  chiefly 
their  faults.    This  period    manifests  an  unevenness  in    bodily 

iRruun,  Christopher:  Folkelige  Grundtanker,  208  p.  Christiania,  Norway, 
Albert  Cammermeyer,  1898. 

290 


EDUCATION 

growth  which  produces  extreme  awkwardness.  The  features 
lose  their  childish  beauty.  The  soul-life  corresponds  with  the 
exterior.  Coarseness  of  thought,  word,  and  feeling,  dominate. 
Violent  likes  and  dislikes  chase  each  other  through  his  sym- 
pathies. The  manly  in  strength  and  daring  appeals  to  him.  He 
has  an  inclination  for  manual  labor,  and  shows  considerable 
dexterity  and  ingenuity  in  work.  He  delights  in  physical  exer- 
cise, hunting,  and  skating.  This  indicates  that  the  boy  at  this 
time  ought  to  use  and  train  his  body — a  plain  hint  nature  gives 
to  educators.  Least  of  all  is  he  fitted  for  uninteresting  drudgery 
in  the  school-room.  He  will  probably  leave  school,  and  if  he 
stays  he  will  most  likely  devote  his  energies  to  mischief  rather 
than  to  learning.  But  another  life  shift  comes.  The  later 
adolescence  begins  at  seventeen  or  eighteen.  Firmness  in  bear- 
ing, grace  in  movement,  curves  in  form  take  the  place  of  their 
late  opposites,  and  this  is  only  the  radiation  of  the  inner  beauty 
world  which  possesses  every  life  whose  development  has  not  been 
arrested.  When  the  plant  blossoms,  it  gathers  all  the  beauty  it 
has  of  delicacy  and  color  together  in  its  corolla.  Youth  is  this 
apple-blossom  period  of  life,  when  the  soul  dwells  on  the  fair 
pictures  a  strong  imagination  paints  before  his  inward  eye.  It  is 
a  natural  thing  for  every  young  person  at  this  time  to  have  at 
any  rate  some  freedom  from  physical  labor,  some  leisure  to  cast 
a  glance  at  the  inner  world  of  ideas  and  to  think  over  what  he 
sees.  When  the  young  have  no  such  freedom  or  have  no  oppor- 
tunity to  use  it  aright,  it  will  not  be  easy  to  escape  the  danger  of 
the  whole  life  getting  an  impress  of  materialism,  for  youth  is, 
par  excellence,  the  time  of  poetry,  it  is  an  age  of  ideals  when 
we  form  a  picture  of  reality  not  as  we  have  met  it  in  our  sur- 
roundings, but  as  we  ourselves  would  have  formed  it  if  we  could 
— a  picture  of  reality  as  it  ought  to  be.  it  is  a  time  of  longings, 
the  beautiful  time  of  the  dreams  of  youth.  And  the  dreams  deal 
more  than  anything  else  with  one's  own  future  life  towards  which 
the  mind,  full  of  expectation,  turns  looking  forward  to  a  time 
when  oneself  in  manhood's  strength  shall  break  his  own  way, 
build  his  own  house,  and  forge  his  own  future.  And  this  life  in 
the  future  the  imagination  paints  with  the  finest  colors  each 
individual  possesses;  his  life-work,  his  home,  and  the  woman 
who  shall  accompany  him  through  life.  But  the  most  important 
moments  in  youth  in  which  the  life-forces  culminate  are  the 
great  hours  of  enthusiasm  when  all  the  gathering  strength  of  our 
ideals  like  Ganymede's  eagle  bears  us  aloft.  For  all,  both  those 
of  the  first  rank  and  humbler  ones,  these  hours  of  enthusiasm 
are  the  highest  and  most  important  hours  of  their  \outhful  years. 
These  are  the  moments  which  determine  what  their  later  human 

291 


THE  SOUTHERN  HIGHLANDER 

life  shall  be,  for  the  floods  of  manhood's  energy  seldom  go  be- 
yond the  high  water  mark  of  the  freshets  of  youth's  enthusiasm. 
What  a  person  did  not  glow  for  in  his  young  days,  he  will  not 
easily  work  for  as  a  man. 

At  this  point  1  may  be  permitted  to  speak  a  word  regarding 
the  Common  People's  High  School.  It  is  intended  to  be  a  school 
for  young  people — most  immediately  established  for  young  peas- 
ants. It  means  to  offer  them  a  place  where,  in  the  time  they 
have  free  from  physical  labor,  they  can  live  a  life  of  genuine 
youth,  where  they  can  have  leisure  for  an  inward-turned  life  in 
thought,  and  dream.  But  the  chief  purpose  of  these  schools  is  to 
arrange  for  the  young  to  meet  the  aforesaid  eagle  of  enthusiasm 
sweeping  past  on  outspread  wings.  To  that  end,  we  lead  them 
to  the  greatest  poets  we  know,  and  we  present  particularly  those 
of  the  poets  who  speak  most  immediately  to  our  own  minds,  and 
we  try  to  let  them  speak  to  the  young  peasant  lad 

Among  the  characteristic  features  of  the  Folk  High  School  is  its 
emphasis  upon  all  that  tends  to  stimulate  idealism  and  patriotism 
— the  old  Danish  myths  and  sagas,  Denmark's  language  and  lit- 
erature, her  geography,  her  accomplishment  in  history,  and  her 
potentialities.  Much  is  made  of  song,^  folk-song  and  patriotic 
songs  in  particular.  Emphasis  is  largely  on  the  cultural,  but  les- 
sons are  given  in  those  branches  of  natural  science  which  promote 
an  understanding  of  agriculture  in  its  practical  aspects,  as  well  as 
those  which  add  to  its  dignity  and  significance.  Gymnastic  train- 
ing is  also  given  a  prominent  place. 

As  to  method,  the  school  does  not  underestimate  the  value  of 
accurate  knowledge  and  the  development  of  the  reasoning  pow- 
ers to  clearness  and  keenness;  but  its  purpose  is  nevertheless 
chiefly  "educative."  The  development  of  the  feelings  and  the 
will  has  for  it  a  greater  significance  than  that  of  the  memory  or 
reason.  It  would  be  for  democracy  what  the  church  is  for 
Christianity.  Therefore  it  must  emphasize  the  concrete,  the 
living,  the  stimulating,  and  the  hour  it  succeeds  in  addressing 
the  sense  for  the  higher  and  nobler  in  human  life,  or  spurs  some- 
one on  to  real  active  work  to  further  this  higher,  that  hour 
has  for  the  high  school  greater  significance  than  the  hour  in 
which  there  is  added  a  new  mass  of  knowledge  to  that  previously 
existing,  or  even  the  hour  in  which  the  reason  has  followed  a 

'  .Music  and  gymnastics  have  also  a  very  prominent  place  in  the  elementary  pub- 
lic school  system  of  Denmark. 

292 


EDUCATION 

new  grammatical  explanation  or  reached  a  new  mathematical 
conclusion.  Learning  is  here  for  life  and  not  for  the  school. 
That  they  may  leave  us  with  a  desire  to  take  part  in  the  work 
of  life,  the  spiritual  not  less  than  the  temporal,  and  with  judg- 
ment to  use  the  means  life  offers,  that  is  what  we  wish  for  our 
students. 1 

The  school  does  not  teach  religion  in  dogmatic  forms,  nor  is  in- 
fluence exerted  to  lead  the  student  in  certain  religious  directions. 
Political  agitation  is  avoided,  but  effort  is  made  to  awaken  judg- 
ment in  political  matters  by  teaching  the  constitution  of  the  state 
and  its  chief  laws,  and  by  explaining  political  principles  and  pic- 
turing the  historical  struggles  of  society. 

In  the  conduct  of  the  school,  books  play  a  very  subordinate  part. 
Instruction  is  imparted  largely  by  word  of  mouth.  The  teacher 
must  inspire  through  the  "alchemy  of  personality."  It  is  a  funda- 
mental principle  that  all  intellectual  influence  must  be  personal. 
Everything  depends  upon  how  education  is  given  and  this  is  de- 
pendent upon  who  gives  it. 

No  examinations  are  required  for  admission,  nor  does  work  end 
with  examinations.  Neither  is  there  admission  certificate  to  any 
higher  institution.  It  is  held  that  such  examinations,  or  any  ad- 
vantage gained  otherwise  than  by  increased  inner  worth,  would 
destroy  "the  free  and  fertilizing  communication  and  appropria- 
tion of  knowledge,  which  is  the  basis  of  the  power  and  authority 
of  the  school." 

All  the  pupils  board  at  the  school  and  live  as  a  large  family  dur- 
ing their  school  life  with  their  teachers  and  comrades.  The  eleva- 
tion of  character  and  the  progress  made  are  held  to  be  due  to  this 
practice  and  to  the  fact  that  those  who  come  are  physically  and 
mentally  mature,  have  a  desire  to  learn,  and  are  under  the  com- 
pulsion of  their  ideals. 

The  terms  are  two:  usually  a  winter  term  of  five  months  for 
young  men,  and  a  summer  term  of  three  months  for  young  women. 
Strong  opposition  exists  to  lengthening  the  terms,  as  this  would 
tend  to  exclude  pupils  of  limited  means  and  to  further  the  idea  of 

1  Extract  from  Sofus  Rogsbro,  quoted  by  John  Robert  Swenson,  "Grundtvig  and 
the  Common- People's  High  School:  Denmark's  Contribution  to  the  History  of  Ed- 
ucation."    Course  Thesis  in  Education  5,  February  29,  1904,  University  of  Texas. 

293 


THE  SOUTHERN  HIGHLANDER 

Study  for  the  sake  of  study  rather  than  for  life.  At  times  courses 
are  so  arranged  that  a  pupil  may  return  on  the  following  year  to 
take  up  new  work.  It  is  not  uncommon  for  a  pupil  to  take  courses 
in  other  folk  schools  in  subsequent  years,  and  those  who  have  a 
desire  for  further  study  go  to  the  Extended  Popular  High  School 
at  Askov  on  the  German  border,  where  more  emphasis  is  given 
to  the  acquiring  of  knowledge  and  training  for  professions.  Off- 
springs of  these  popular  or  folk  high  schools  are  hundreds  of  lecture 
societies  throughout  the  country  doing  work  somewhat  similar  to 
our  own  university  extension  movement.  Every  fall  people  from 
country  and  town  assemble  for  several  days  at  the  various  high 
schools  to  receive  instruction  through  lectures  by  the  principals  and 
by  others. 

Several  attempts  have  been  made  to  combine  folk  school  and 
agricultural  school,  or  to  transform  folk  school  into  agricultural 
school.  Such  experiments  have  not  generally  met  with  success.  It 
has  been  found  more  satisfactory  to  keep  the  two  institutions 
separate.  Let  the  student  get  his  view  of  life  and  his  spiritual 
stimulus  from  the  folk  school,  and  then  afterward  his  detailed  and 
exact  knowledge  from  the  agricultural  school  or  other  institution. 

From  these  folk  schools  permeated  with  cultural  and  religious 
influences  have  gone  forth  men  and  women  who  have  been  leaders 
in  winning  the  barren  heath  lands  of  Denmark  to  fertility;  who 
have  made  Europe  the  market  for  the  dairy  products  of  Denmark, 
and  who  have  been  a  vital  influence  in  making  the  life  of  this  little 
kingdom  as  spiritually  rich  as  it  is  economically  independent. 

Sir  Horace  Plunkett,  in  his  investigation  of  the  co-operative 
movement,  examined  carefully  the  work  of  the  Danish  folk  schools 
and  concluded  that  the  extraordinary  national  progress  of  the 
Danes  was  due  to  them.    He  says: 

A  friend  of  mine,  who  was  studying  the  Danish  system  of 
state  aid  to  agriculture,  found  this  to  be  the  opinion  of  the  Danes 
of  all  classes,  and  was  astounded  at  the  achievements  of  the  asso- 
ciations of  farmers,  not  only  in  the  manufacture  of  butter,  but 
in  a  far  more  difficult  undertaking,  the  manufacture  of  bacon  in 
large  factories  equipped  with  all  the  most  modern  machinery 
and  appliances  which  science  had  devised  for  the  production  of 
the  finished  article.    He  at  first  concluded  that  this  success  in  a 

294 


EDUCATION 


highly  technical  industry  by  bodies  of  farmers,  indicated  a  very 
perfect  system  of  technical  education.  But  he  soon  found  another 
cause.  As  one  of  the  leading  educators  and  agriculturists  of  the 
country  put  it  to  him:  "It's  not  technical  instruction,  it's  the 
humanities."^ 


With  few  exceptions  the  folk  schools  of  Denmark  are  privately 
owned,  and  sustained  in  large  part  by  the  small  tuition  fees  re- 
ceived. The  state  is  empowered,  however,  to  aid  such  as  especially 
commend  themselves. 

To  those  who  have  struggled  to  conduct  a  school  of  high  grade 
in  the  mountains  and  have  been  conscious  of  the  fact  that  the 
requirements  turned  away  in  his  "apple-blossom  period  of  life" 
many  a  mountain  youth  who  had  been  forced  by  the  "culminating 
of  his  life-forces  and  the  gathering  strength  of  his  ideals"  to  seek 
an  education,  this  type  of  school  will  appeal. 

Many  a  teacher  has  the  haunting  memory  of  a  mountain  youth 
of  eighteen  or  more  applying  for  admission  to  school  but  unable  to 
pass  successfully  any  form  of  oral  or  written  examination  for  en- 
trance. If  he  persisted  and  were  classified  on  the  outcome  of  the 
test,  his  classmates  would  be  children  of  eight  or  ten  years  of  age  who, 
living  in  the  village,  had  had  school  opportunities  from  their  early 
years.  The  progress  of  the  few  who  persevered  gave  evidence  of  the 
development  possible  to  those  beginning  school  so  late.  More  fre- 
quently the  youth  turned  from  the  closed  door  discouraged  or 
hardened,  to  swell  before  long  the  ranks  of  the  voters  who  see  no 
good  in  taxing  themselves  to  give  others  education  which  is  "no 
account  nohow." 

Before  the  mind  of  the  writer  rises  the  face  of  a  youth  of  twenty, 
who  stood  before  him  years  ago  when  he  was  principal  of  a  little 
academy  in  the  mountains. 

"Can  you  read,  Jim?" 

"No,  sir." 

And  there  followed  the  usual  farce  of  a  required  examination  in 
order  to  know  where  the  boy  was  to  be  placed.  He  should  have  gone 
into  the  second  grade,  but  by  a  stretch  of  conscience  the  principal 

1  Plunkett,  Sir  Horace:  Ireland  in  the  New  Century,  p.  131.  New  York,  E.  P. 
Dutton  iS:  Co.,  1904. 

295 


THE  SOUTHERN  HIGHLANDER 

put  him  among  the  children  of  the  third,  where  his  six  feet  towered 
strangely  above  the  little  heads.  ^- 

Troubled  in  mind,  the  principal  turned  to  the  young  man. 

"You  will  have  to  do  your  reciting  with  that  grade,  Jim,"  he 
said,  "  but  you  may  sit  in  my  room." 

There  was  a  pause,  and  then  the  eyes  met  his  squarely. 

"I  reckon.  Professor,  I'll  sit  where  1  belong." 

Jim  stood  the  test,  and  by  reason  of  his  maturity  advanced 
quickly  through  several  grades.  The  pity  was  not  in  the  situation 
he  was  forced  to  face  nor  in  any  failure  of  his  to  meet  the  stan- 
dards of  the  school,  but  that  for  all  his  effort  he  got  so  little  of  what 
he  needed.  Years  of  night  work  and  summer  work  found  him 
struggling  on  in  a  vain  race  between  health  and  knowledge.  He 
would  not  borrow  money,  and  the  principal  could  fmd  few  ways 
to  ease  his  path.  The  last  the  writer  knew  of  Jim,  when  he  himself 
was  leaving  the  little  town,  the  boy,  a  man  then  of  twenty-five  or 
six,  had  been  earning  money  for  the  coming  term  by  acting  as 
motorman  during  the  day  in  the  nearest  urban  center,  and  from 
midnight  to  morning  as  watchman  for  a  big  building.  Between 
times  he  ate,  slept,  and  attended  night  school.  He  was  very  thin, 
and  looked  years  beyond  his  age,  but  he  was  still  moving  on,  though 
more  slowly  now,  in  the  losing  race. 

The  needless  cruelty  of  this  struggle  stands  out  in  sharp  relief 
against  the  possibilities  which  would  have  been  open  through  a 
folk  school,  in  such  a  school,  adapted  to  mountain  conditions,  Jim 
might  have  gained  in  a  few  terms  something  of  the  larger  culture 
to  which  he  aspired  and  which  he  could  never  hope  to  attain  under 
the  present  system.  He  would  have  mingled  with  those  of  his  age, 
not  alone  in  study  but  in  healthful  exercise  and  recreation.  There 
would  furthermore  have  been  open  to  him  practical  means  whereby 
he  could  exercise  in  life  in  his  own  environment  the  faculties  he  had 
gained.  In  such  a  school  the  beauty  of  the  Highland  country,  its 
part  in  the  pioneer  life  of  the  nation  and  the  great  advance  to  the 
Far  West,  its  native  culture,  which  has  been  too  much  ignored,  and 
its  folk-song  in  particular,  would  all  be  given  expression. 

It  may  be  contended  that,  though  such  an  educational  ideal  be 
desirable  for  the  mountains,  there  are  practical  objections  arising 
from  lack  of  money.    The  annual  budget  of  the  church  and  inde- 

296 


EDUCATION 

pendent  schools  is  over  $600,000;  the  property  investment  nearly 
,,  ,000,000.  One  denomination  alone  has  during  the  past  score  of 
years  spent  in  a  limited  mountain  area  over  §2,000,000.  it  would 
be  far  better  for  the  ultimate  good  of  the  many  in  the  mountains 
if ..  number  of  the  church  boards  would  dispose  of  their  property 
holdings,  especially  those  in  county-seats,  or  give  them  to  the  pub- 
lic school  authorities  and  concentrate  upon  a  few  of  their  boarding 
schools  best  located  rurally  for  development  on  folk  school  lines. 
The  influence  of  a  few  institutions  of  the  kind  described  would,  we 
believe,  be  far  greater  and  more  extensive  than  that  of  a  larger 
number  of  such  schools  as  are  maintained  at  present. 

It  is  not  to  be  expected  that  a  foreign  institution  could  be  trans- 
planted without  change  to  the  mountains;  there  would  need  to  be  a 
readjustment  to  conform  to  generally  accepted  American  ideals 
and  to  meet  the  special  needs  of  the  particular  environment  in 
which  the  school  was  established.  Such  readjustment  would  be  less 
experimental  in  character  if  picked  men  and  women,  long  ac- 
quainted with  the  mountain  field,  should  be  given  opportunity  to 
study  the  folk  schools  in  countries  where  they  now  exist,  and  then 
be  placed  over  selected  schools  to  direct  their  work  in  the  light  of 
their  past  experience  and  recent  study. 

Furthermore,  to  insure  success  the  organizations  or  trustees 
under  whose  auspices  this  new  work  is  undertaken  must  give  assur- 
ance of  full  support— a  support  that  provides  adequate  funds  for 
the  school  and  sufhcientl\-  large  salaries  for  the  workers  to  enable 
them  to  satisfy  their  legitimate  official  and  personal  needs. 

The  most  serious  mistakes  that  have  been  made  in  school  as  well 
as  in  agricultural  work — the  fundamental  occupation  in  the  High- 
lands— have  arisen  from  the  assumption  that  what  was  good  for 
the  city  school,  or  the  school  in  the  Lowland  rural  sections,  or  for 
agriculture  elsewhere,  was  without  change  good  for  the  Highlands. 
Transplanting  exotics  that  die  and  exterminating  the  indigenous 
would  eventually  leave  even  a  land  of  promise — as  is  the  mountain 
country — a  barren  waste. 

The  folk  schools,  with  their  extension  systems,  might  be  adapted 
readily  to  meet  the  changing  and  varied  needs  of  this  land.  In 
such  a  pioneer  educational  movement  for  the  mountains  the  church 
and  independent  schools  are  better  able  to  take  the  lead  than  are 

297 


THE  SOUTHERN  HIGHLANDER 

public  agencies,  because  the  latter  require  the  support  of  an 
awakened  and  progressive  public  opinion  before  they  feel  justified 
in  expending  public  funds.  The  difficulties  of  finding  persons  possess- 
ing the  proper  spirit  and  personality  to  conduct  folk  schools,  and 
of  training  and  sustaining  such  persons,  are  not  underestimated; 
nevertheless,  such  workers  can  be  found  and  they  can  be  trained. 
It  is  just  here,  in  the  solving  of  the  problem  of  a  richer  rural  life, 
that  the  church  and  independent  schools  have  a  unique  oppor- 
tunity to  influence  for  generations  to  come  the  life  of  the  mountain 
people,  and  thus  to  find  their  own  highest  service. 


298 


CHAPTER  XIII 
AVENUES  FOR  CONTACT  AND  PROGRESS 

A  MOUNTAIN  realm  rich  in  forests,  streams,  mines,  and  soil 
awaits  development.  A  mountain  population  with  latent 
L  possibilities  awaits  opportunity  that  it  may  share  in  this 
development  and  in  what  it  may  bring.  That  commercialism  on 
the  one  hand,  and  individualism  on  the  other,  may  not  war  further 
against  the  welfare  of  the  Highlander,  equal  foresight  and  intel- 
ligence must  characterize  the  efforts  of  all  agencies  working  in  his 
behalf. 

What  is  to  be  done  with  this  people?  What  is  to  be  done  for 
them?  These  two  forms  of  inquiry,  put  by  many  who  seek  to  help 
in  the  solution  of  mountain  problems,  are  indicative  not  only  of 
perplexity  but  of  certain  attitudes  of  mind.  Those  who  employ  the 
first  form  appear  to  regard  the  mountain  people  either  as  social 
encumbrances  or  material  to  be  cast  into  whatever  place  they  may 
fill  or  fit,  or  into  which  they  may  be  packed  or  fitted.  The  second 
group  of  questioners,  actuated  by  the  highest  motives,  seem  to  feel 
a  responsibility  of  kinship  to  all  in  need.  Some  of  the  efforts  they 
have  made  to  answer  their  question  have  resulted  in  great  good. 
Not  a  few  of  this  class,  however,  are  inclined  to  believe  that  a 
benevolent  overlordship,  at  times  a  philanthropic  despotism  by 
some  board  or  organization,  is  the  only  guarantee  of  success. 

The  social  salvation  of  the  mountains  will  not  be  won  by  putting 
its  people  forward  as  pawns  to  advance  others,  nor  by  using  them 
as  filling  to  make  the  highway  of  progress  smoother,  nor  will  com- 
pulsion from  without,  however  benevolent,  ever  be  a  substitute  for 
self-direction  under  the  impulse  of  ideals  voluntarily  accepted. 

In  the  desire  to  give  a  clear  and  definite  answer  to  the  question 

as  to  what  can  be  done  to  awaken  this  impulse  where  it  does  not 

exist,  and  to  indicate  ways  and  means  to  give  it  expression,  the 

tempting  lure  of  dogmatism  presents  itself.    Certain  kinds  of  work 

21  299 


THE  SOUTHERN  HIGHLANDER 

have  proved  of  great  local  benefit,  and  their  extension  to  all  moun- 
tain communities  would  seem  to  offer  a  ready  solution  of  the  prob- 
lem. Communities,  however,  differ  as  do  people,  and  the  needs  of 
the  mountaineer  are  as  diverse  and  as  numerous  as  the  needs  of 
humanity.  No  one  nor  any  definite  number  of  methods  will  meet 
them  all.  Insistence  by  rural  workers  upon  specific  measures  is  no 
less  irritating  and  obstructive  than  complacency  or  bigotry  in 
matters  of  religion. 

This  much  may  be  said  at  the  beginning:  whatever  the  place, 
whatever  the  method,  the  people  themselves  must  first  be  con- 
sidered. While  they  differ  one  from  another  as  do  members  of 
other  groups,  there  are  certain  general  characteristics  that  need  to 
be  kept  in  mind  if  unnecessary  misunderstandings  and  mistakes 
are  to  be  avoided. 

The  mountaineer  is  extremely  sensitive  and  independent.  He  is 
not  a  person  to  be  pushed  where  he  does  not  wish  to  go,  nor  is  he 
submissively  responsive  to  a  shaping  process.  Although  often  ap- 
preciative of  efforts  made  for  his  good  by  those  who  have  won  his 
regard,  he  is  yet  somewhat  distrustful  of  innovations  or  of  new 
people  trying  old  methods.  Furthermore,  he  is  not  altogether  an 
easy  person  with  whom  to  work,  for  his  individualism  leads  him  to 
disregard  the  thoughts  and  plans  of  others  and  to  consult  only  his 
own  wishes,  which  today  may  differ  widely  from  those  of  yesterday. 
His  sensitiveness  renders  it  very  difficult  for  his  best  friends  to 
make  public  any  statement  regarding  him,  even  by  way  of  clearing 
up  misrepresentations  or  to  suggest  measures  of  promise  for  his 
country  and  his  people.  Those  who  have  his  confidence  may  guide 
him  and  may  tell  him  his  shortcomings  face  to  face,  but  frequently 
he  turns  upon  the  leaders  whom  he  has  followed  because  they  have 
set  forth  his  need  to  the  public.  Many  an  attempt  for  community 
betterment  in  the  mountains  has  failed  because  those  who  planned 
it  have  not  duly  regarded  this  sensitiveness.  There  is,  however, 
more  of  hope  for  people  who  feel  thus  than  for  such  as  are  ready  to 
be  exploited  and  willing  to  be  held  up,  or  to  hold  themselves  up, 
as  cheerful  recipients  of  "missionary  effort." 

The  wisest  plans  for  betterment  are  those  that  take  the  people 
themselves  into  account  as  contributors  to  their  own  welfare.  Pre- 
liminary steps  must  often  be  taken  by  others,  and  perhaps  for  a 

300 


AVENUES  FOR  CONTACT  AND  PROGRESS 

long  time  co-operative  efforts  will  need  to  be  furthered;  but  the 
ultimate  aim  must  be  to  enable  the  individual  to  so  shape  his  life 
as  to  make  him  a  contributor  to,  as  well  as  a  sharer  in,  the  benefits 
of  the  general  social  welfare.  In  all  measures  designed  to  bring 
about  this  end  the  initiative  and  co-operation  of  the  mountaineer 
should  from  the  beginning  be  invited  and  welcomed. 

If  the  largest  success  is  to  attend  efforts  in  behalf  of  particular 
peoples  within  a  specified  section,  the  feelings  of  that  section  as  a 
whole  cannot  be  ignored  or  passed  by  without  fair  consideration. 
It  is  not  our  purpose  to  call  into  question  the  growing  belief  that 
the  peoples  of  the  different  sections  that  make  up  our  common 
country  are  coming  to  understand  one  another  better.  Certain 
indirect  influences,  however,  arising  from  sectional  misunderstand- 
ings and  the  mistakes  growing  out  of  them,  have  affected  work 
done  by  denominational  and  independent  boards  in  the  mountains. 

These  influences  emanated  on  the  one  hand  from  a  feeling  that 
Northerners  who  were  contributing  to  the  support  of  work  for  cer- 
tain peoples  in  the  South  were  lacking  in  sympathy  toward  South- 
erners whose  knowledge  and  leadership  are  essential  to  the  solu- 
tion of  Southern  problems.  In  addition  it  was  felt,  often,  that 
these  charitably  disposed  outsiders  conceived  the  way  of  better- 
ment to  lie  in  fashioning  the  section  where  work  was  done  into  the 
likeness  of  their  own  section,  because  they  felt  the  latter  had  more 
to  contribute  in  the  way  of  ideals.  It  was  also  claimed,  often 
justly,  that  pleas  made  in  the  North  for  the  support  of  such  work 
were  based  upon  past  differences  between  North  and  South,  in  the 
presentation  of  which  the  peculiar  geographical  conditions  of  the 
two  sections  and  consequent  economic,  political,  and  social  dif- 
ferences were  little  touched  upon. 

On  the  other  hand,  many  Northerners  held  that  this  resentment 
was  often  unwarranted  and  generally  unjust,  and  that  there  was 
in  the  South  a  lack  of  proper  appreciation  of  the  genuine  interest 
which  prompted  thousands  to  deny  themselves  in  order  to  give  a 
little  toward  the  generous  total  donated  for  educational  purposes. 
It  was  furthermore  alleged  that  there  was  a  failure  to  perceive  that 
the  needs  of  each  part  of  the  country  must  be  the  concern  of  all, 
if  the  right  kind  of  national  life  is  to  be  developed. 

Many  of  the  misunderstandings  were  no  doubt  inevitable.    The 

301 


THE  SOUTHERN  HIGHLANDER 

mass  of  people  in  the  respective  sections  knew  one  another  only 
through  the  observations  of  others,  if  these  observations  chanced 
to  be  superficial — conditions  being  measured  merely  by  the  tradi- 
tion and  customs  of  the  observer's  home  neighborhood  rather  than 
interpreted  in  the  best  spirit  of  the  section  itself — false  impressions 
would  be  disseminated  widely,  particularly  if  the  critic  were  of 
sufficient  prominence  to  shape  public  opinion  in  his  own  part  of 
the  country. 

Biespife many  of  the  retarding  influences  which  had  their  begin- 
nings in  misunderstandings,  one  cannot  but  wonder  whether  their 
effects  would  not  have  been  felt  less  had  there  been  a  more  sparing 
use  of  the  word  "missions."  After  all,  there  is  much  in  a  name. 
The  mountaineer  resents  this  term  as  applied  to  him.  He  feels  he 
is  being  classed  with  the  heathen. 

Localities  and  sections  respond  as  do  individuals  when  pride  is 
wounded.  Regions  ready  to  respond  to  the  call  of  need  elsewhere 
are  loath  to  believe  that  there  may  be  a  somewhat  similar  need  in 
their  own  remote  rural  townships.  They  resent  such  a  suggestion 
in  terms  no  less  emphatic  than  those  used  by  the  mountaineer. 
Doubtless  many  dwellers  in  the  metropolis  of  America  would  deny 
that  among  the  hills  and  mountains  lying  less  than  twoscore  miles 
from  its  center  exist  conditions  that  rival  the  extreme  conditions 
in  the  Southern  Highlands.  Other  localities  could  also  be  pointed 
out  where  similar  conditions  obtain.  In  the  Southern  Highlands 
the  problems  are  only  larger  in  extent  and  more  intense.  If 
churches  would  recognize  the  fact  that  these  problems  are  rural, 
and  would  place  mountain  work  under  general  social  service  and 
rural  departments  instead  of  under  mission  boards,  larger  and  bet- 
ter results  would  follow.  If  this  is  impossible  a  softening  of  the 
emphasis  upon  the  word  "mission,"  where  it  cannot  be  removed 
from  the  names  of  church  boards,  is  worthy  of  careful  considera- 
tion by  those  who  desire  to  have  the  work  done,  and  only  to  the 
glory  of  the  Inspirer  of  all  good  work. 

If  one  may  judge  from  questions  asked,  numbers  of  people  won- 
der why  measures  for  betterment  cannot  be  best  secured  through 
state  legislation.  Those  who  make  the  inquiry  seem  to  have  lost 
sight  of  certain  facts  and  not  to  have  followed  the  development  of 
beneficent  state  activities  elsewhere.    New  and  great  changes  are 

302 


AVENUES  FOR  CONTACT  AND  PROGRESS 

taking  place  within  the  South  which  are  taxing  her  energies  and  de- 
manding her  attention.  Only  one  who  has  hved  in  this  part  of  the 
country  can  appreciate  the  remarkable  progress  that  has  taken 
place  during  the  last  twenty-five  years.  It  should  be  remembered, 
however,  that  in  states  which  since  the  time  of  their  organization 
have  never  borne  the  strife  of  warring  armies,  most  of  the  corrective 
and  preventive  agencies,  now  a  part  of  the  state  machinery,  were 
first  inspired  by  the  success  of  private  enterprises  along  these  lines. 
Only  after  public  opinion  had  awakened  to  the  need  of  making 
•such  benefits  general  and  free  to  all,  did  the  state  assume  these 
activities,  even  such  states  as  were  abundantly  able  financially  to 
maintain  them. 

It  would  be  expecting  too  much  to  look  for  immediate  remedies 
through  special  legislation  for  the  mountains.  It  has  already 
been  seen  that  the  upland  areas  of  the  South  are  largely  a  country 
within  a  country,  and  that  the  mountaineer's  political  allegiance 
often  differs  from  that  of  the  Lowlander.  In  the  Lowland  South  a 
number  of  prominent  educational,  agricultural,  industrial,  and 
political  leaders  have  affirmed  that  they  have  not  been  able  as  yet 
to  secure  the  necessary  legislation  and  appropriations  for  the  pro- 
motion of  the  interests  of  the  section  where  most  of  their  con- 
stituents live.  Before  much  can  be  done  for  the  remote  mountains, 
measures  immediately  applicable  to  the  Lowlands  and  Valley  will 
probably  receive  consideration.  Such  a  course  is  in  the  natural 
order  of  things. 

The  attitude  of  some  of  the  Lowlanders  toward  the  mountain 
people  may  be  set  forth  in  the  statement  of  a  prominent  leader  in 
welfare  work  for  a  Lowland  group  which  would  correspond,  some- 
what, to  our  third  group  of  Highlanders.  "We  know,"  said  he, 
"that  there  are  mountain  problems  needing  solution,  but  we  are  a 
people  of  sentiment.  1  n  the  past  the  mountaineer  has  differed  from 
us  on  important  questions,  and  in  this  state  the  mountains  were 
the  retreat  of  the  bushwhacker  and  the  traitor.  Our  resources  and 
our  strength  are  limited,  and  as  we  cannot  yet  care  for  all,  we  care 
first  for  the  children  of  those  whose  fathers  with  our  fathers  shoul- 
dered the  musket  and  suffered  and  died  for  what  they  believed  to  be 
right."  There  was  no  bitterness  of  feeling  expressed,  no  resent- 
ment for  what  had  been  done  for  the  mountaineer,  no  implied  wish 

303 


THE  SOUTHERN  HIGHLANDER 

that  efforts  should  not  be  made  on  his  behalf,  but  a  very  natural 
and  straightforward  statement  of  a  universal  truth  that  people 
first  take  care  of  their  own. 

Some  of  the  mountain  areas  have  possessed,  it  is  true,  enough 
political  influence  to  be  of  importance,  and  certain  counties  are 
among  the  wealthiest  in  their  states.  As  yet,  however,  too  many 
so-called  "pauper  counties"  pay  into  the  state  tax  fund  less  than 
is  required  to  carry  on  the  necessary  activities  in  the  county  to  per- 
mit an  aggressive  political  movement  from  within  the  region  for  its 
own  betterment.  Moreover,  if  legislative  measures  be  furthered 
for  the  welfare  of  the  entire  state,  they  would  very  likely  be  of  a 
kind  little  suited  to  the  immediate  and  special  needs  of  the  moun- 
tains, unless  legislators  should  be  far-sighted  enough  to  allow  for 
variation  in  a  general  method  based  on  the  need  of  the  majority. 

There  are  people  in  the  mountains  who  see  the  needs.  There 
is  also  in  the  Lowland  South  a  rapidly  increasing  number  of 
thoughtful  men  and  women  who  know  that  the  different  peoples  of 
the  South  cannot  rise  or  fall  alone,  but  that  all  must  rise  or  fall 
together.  Fortunately,  too,  many  of  the  social  workers  in  the 
South,  who  are  not  native  to  it  but  are  striving  earnestly  for  its 
welfare,  are  coming  to  understand  that  no  attempt  to  improve 
conditions  has  in  it  much  promise  of  ultimate  success  that  fails  to 
enlist  the  co-operation  of  these  mountain  and  Lowland  leaders. 

In  the  working  together  of  all  these  forces  for  betterment  there 
should  be  on  the  one  hand  evidence  of  sympathy  for  the  South  in 
its  struggle  for  right  adjustment,  and  on  the  other  the  recognition 
that  many  of  its  problems,  while  in  a  sense  special  and  sectional, 
are  national  in  effect  and  call  for  the  best  thought  of  the  nation  in 
their  solution.  All  people  of  a  country  are  responsible  to  a  degree 
for  the  difficulties  in  any  section,  and  for  their  removal,  though 
leadership  in  their  solution  falls  naturally  upon  those  nearest  to  the 
problems. 

The  movement  that  would  have  in  it  the  greatest  promise  of  suc- 
cess for  the  Highlands  would  be  part  of  a  national  rural  move- 
ment to  improve  country  life  throughout  the  nation,  and  having, 
perhaps,  as  its  guiding  force,  a  rural  life  commission  or  bureau 
under  whose  leadership  all  state  and  private  activities  could  co- 


304 


AVENUES  FOR  CONTACT  AND  PROGRESS 

operate  in  studying  conditions  and  in  setting  in  motion  corrective 
measures. 

The  recently  organized  American  Country  Life  Association'  offers 
a  possible  beginning  within  which  may  develop  a  nucleus  of  leaders 
who  can  advise  and  stimulate  and  perhaps  in  time  direct  definite 
experiments  in  rural  work  along  lines  that  seem  promising.  The 
fact  that  life  in  the  Highlands  is  so  generally  rural  and  so  little 
complicated  by  differences  in  race  and  religion,  would  make  this 
field  peculiarly  fitted  for  experiment,  and  difficult  enough,  because 
of  topographical  conditions,  to  test  any  effort  made. 

There  are  many  national,  state,  church,  and  philanthropic  agen- 
cies that  ultimately  will  be  co-ordinated  in  a  general  movement  of 
the  kind  indicated,  and  which  even  now  are  intended  to  benefit 
the  whole  country.  The  attention  of  the  executive  officers  of  such 
organizations  should  be  directed  to  the  Highlands,  and  the  atten- 
tion of  leaders  within  the  field  should  be  called  to  these  agencies. 
Connection  is  often  all  that  is  needed,  and  once  established  would 
give  assurance  of  ultimate  success.  Remedial  efforts  would  then 
be  heartily  welcomed,  as  they  would  not  be  were  they  advertised  as 
specifics  for  the  peculiar  ailments  of  a  "  peculiar  people."  To  make 
the  remote  mountain  sections  of  each  state  more  vital  parts  of 
the  state  and  of  the  nation  is  the  task  that  confronts  all  who  have 
the  interests  of  the  Highlands  at  heart. 

Education  in  the  fullest  meaning  of  the  term  is  the  solution. 
Eventually,  the  right  kind  of  public  school  will  fit  the  people  of  the 
future  for  better  citizenship,  but  the  people  of  today  and  tomorrow, 
who  have  not  been  through  any  kind  of  school  and  therefore  do 
not  properly  value  education,  must  be  taught  that  there  is  need  for 
good  schools  with  trained  teachers  and  with  adequate  administra- 
tion and  supervision — and  that  the  only  fitting  way  to  secure  them 
is  through  local  taxation. 

The  right  kind  of  a  public  school  for  the  mountains  is  not  a  thing 
of  the  immediate  future.  The  difficulties  in  the  way  are  man\',  not 
the  least  being  the  lack  of  sufficient  examples  in  other  rural  regions. 
Agencies  now  at  work,  however,  will  ultimately  devise  a  system 
of  public  training  that  will  provide  for  the  needs  of  the  state  and 
will  allow,  also,  for  the  variations  and  special  instruction  demanded 
'Organized  January,  1919,  Baltimore,  Maryland. 


THE  SOUTHERN  HIGHLANDER 

by  the  needs  of  different  localities  and  individuals.  It  is  not  too 
much  to  hope  that  in  the  mountain  country,  as  in  rural  sections 
elsewhere,  elementary  schools  will  instruct  in  the  fundamentals  nec- 
essary for  citizenship,  that  high  schools  will  prepare  for  still  higher 
institutions  which  themselves  will  be  adapted  to  modern  needs; 
and  that  supplementary  or  continuation  schools  will  train  for  his 
life  work  not  only  the  youth  unable  or  unwilling  to  enter  the  high 
school  or  university  but  the  man  already  at  work.  The  emphasis  in 
such  continuation  schools  would  naturally  be  upon  training  for  the 
prevailing  industry  of  its  particular  region.  It  would  be  expected 
that  in  the  border  belt  of  the  mountains  and  Piedmont  Plateau  oc- 
cupied by  the  cotton  mills,  textile  schools  would  be  part  of  the 
system.  In  them  teachers,  mill  operatives,  and  mill  officials,  as 
well  as  the  public,  would  be  interested  to  work  together  not  alone 
for  a  better  product  of  the  loom  but  for  a  better  manhood  and 
womanhood  in  the  producer.  In  other  regions  to  which  the  forests 
have  drawn  the  lumber  interests  and  wood-working  factories,  train- 
ing would  be  given  suitable  to  the  development  of  these  industries, 
while  in  the  coal  and  iron  sections  instruction  would  be  offered  in 
mining,  metallurgy,  and  similar  subjects.  In  all  of  these  schools 
the  natural  sciences,  agriculture,  and  allied  studies  would  be  taught. 
A  way  will  be  found  to  so  teach  all  of  these  subjects  and  to  so 
train  for  life,  as  not  to  leave  the  impression  upon  the  mind  of  the 
pupil  that  he  is  one  of  an  inferior  class  working  with  his  hands  for 
the  benefit  of  a  leisure  or  professional  class.  This  better  way  will 
inspire  the  pupil  and  awaken  in  him  a  love  for  his  work  by  showing 
that  it  has  a  place  not  only  in  the  economy  of  the  world  but  in  its 
esthetic  and  spiritual  life;  that  his  task  is  God-given,  and  if  well 
done  is  of  service  not  alone  to  his  brother  man  but  to  his  Creator. 
The  bane  of  the  present  public  school  system  is  that  it  gives  to  the 
mountain  youth,  as  well  as  to  many  another  country  boy,  the  im- 
pression that  work  with  the  hands  is  an  inferior  kind  of  work  and 
therefore  degrading;  that  the  lawyer,  the  teacher,  the  doctor,  and 
the  minister  are,  by  their  callings,  superior  social  beings.  With  such 
an  impression,  he  seeks  too  often  to  avoid  manual  labor  and  to  live 
by  his  wits,  content  to  be  a  pettifogging  lawyer,  a  quack  doctor, 
a  poor  teacher,  or  a  ministered-unto  minister  rather  than  a  first- 
class  artisan. 

306 


AVENUES  FOR  CONTACT  AND  PROGRESS 

In  educating  the  people  of  the  remote  Highlands  to  a  desire  for  a 
good  system  of  free  schools,  civic  improvement,  better  health, 
social  and  economic  conditions,  and  for  a  catholic  spirit  in  matters 
of  religion,  outside  agencies  may  for  many  years  exert  a  wide  in- 
fluence. No  general  statement  is  possible  as  to  which  lines  of 
activity  will  be  best  to  promote.  Certain  measures  would  seem  nec- 
essary in  all  communities,  but  as  a  rule  plans  must  be  determined 
in  view  of  local  conditions. 

As  a  basis  for  estimating  the  value  of  certain  kinds  of  work  in 
relation  to  general  conditions  prevailing  within  designated  areas, 
and  for  disclosing  possibilities  and  points  of  contact  for  co- 
operation, surveys  will  be  found  useful.  The  mountain  field  should 
be  studied  at  close  range,  regional  and  local  differences  taken  into 
consideration,  the  views  and  findings  of  individual  investigators 
corrected  and  checked  by  the  views  and  findings  of  others,  and 
publicity  given  to  the  results. 

Already  numbers  of  individuals  and  some  organizations  have  un- 
dertaken studies  of  particular  counties  or  communities.  The  value 
of  data  gleaned  in  this  way  would  be  greatly  increased  were  there 
preliminary  conference  with  those  experienced  in  surveys,  in  order 
to  determine  the  principal  lines  of  investigation  and  to  bring  about 
uniformity  in  details  so  that  a  comparison  of  findings  may  be 
possible.  It  is  questionable  whether  in  matters  of  health,  soil  pos- 
sibilities, and  other  such  subjects  of  inquiry  which  call  for  scientific 
training  in  the  investigator,  data  gathered  by  men  not  thus  trained 
will  be  of  value.  Where  earlier  investigations  have  already  been 
made  by  experts,  these  data  could  of  course  be  secured  by  later 
investigators  not  scientifically  trained.  The  United  States  Bureau 
of  Soils  has,  for  example,  made  a  number  of  soil  surveys  covering 
certain  mountain  districts  and  counties,  and  the  United  States 
census  also  gives  much  helpful  information.  Material  of  great 
value  may  likewise  be  found  in  county  and  state  records. 

The  most  promising  attempt  known  to  the  writer  to  gather  and 
publish  facts  concerning  conditions  in  certain  counties,  is  that  of 
the  Georgia  Club  and  other  state  clubs  which  have  followed  its 
plan.  The  Georgia  Club  was  an  outgrowth  of  the  ideals  and 
enthusiasm  of  Dr.  E.  C.  Branson,  former  president  of  the  State 
Normal  School  at  Athens,  Georgia.    From  faculty  meetings  assem- 

307 


THE  SOUTHERN  HIGHLANDER 

bled  to  consider  economic  and  social  questions  pertaining  to  school 
life  the  club  was  enlarged  to  include  students,  and  a  program  was 
outlined  whereby  a  careful  study  was  to  be  made,  county  by 
county,  of  the  entire  state.  Members  of  the  club  surveyed  their 
home  counties,  securing  information  on  resources  and  general  con- 
ditions; and  the  findings,  with  conclusions,  were  made  public 
through  the  local  papers,  in  order  that  people  might  become 
familiar  with  the  possibilities  and  deficiencies  of  their  home  en- 
vironment and  be  able  to  work  toward  better  conditions. 

As  an  example  of  the  scope  of  such  clubs  we  quote  some  of  the 
subjects  studied  during  191 7  and  19 18  by  the  North  Carolina  Club, 
organized  at  the  State  University  of  North  Carolina,  where  Dr. 
Branson  is  now  Professor  of  Rural  Economics  and  Sociology.  Un- 
der the  main  topic  for  the  year — the  County  in  North  Carolina — 
special  attention  was  given  to  the  history  of  the  county  govern- 
ment system,  taxes,  fee  and  salary  system,  finances,  supervision  of 
rural  schools,  county  health  work,  public  health  work,  county  high 
schools,  farm  demonstration  work,  poor  relief,  the  care  of  children, 
and  other  phases  of  county  welfare.  Addresses  upon  these  sub- 
jects were  published  in  the  yearbook  of  the  university. 

The  making  public  of  disagreeable  facts  is  at  best  a  delicate 
task  and  is  attended  with  grave  risks  to  the  constructive  efforts  of 
those  making  the  investigation.  This  is  the  more  true  if  such 
investigators  and  organizations  are  not  native.  It  is  too  much  to 
hope  that  future  publicity  will  not  be  met  with  resentment,  but  a 
growing  consciousness  is  evidenced  in  both  Highlands  and  Low- 
lands that  facts,  however  hard,  must  be  acknowledged  before  reme- 
dial undertakings  can  be  begun.  If  surveys  of  home  counties 
could  be  made  by  mountain  students  in  institutions  of  higher 
learning,  it  would  seem  that  some  offense  might  be  avoided  and  a 
more  genuine  desire  aroused  among  the  people  themselves  to  im- 
prove conditions. 

Various  lines  of  effort  possible  for  outside  agencies  have  already 
been  discussed  in  previous  chapters.  In  general  it  may  be  said 
that  church  and  independent  boards  in  their  educational  work 
should  concentrate  rather  than  diffuse  their  efforts.  Schools  which 
would  best  serve  the  interest  of  a  particular  community  or  of  the 
mountain  country  as  a  whole,  must  cease  to  compete  with  the  pub- 

308 


AVENUES  FOR  CONTACT  AND  PROGRESS 

lie  school  system  by  refusing  to  take  public  funds  and  to  teach 
grades  taught  in  the  public  school.  Some  should  be  closed  entirely. 
Others,  while  willing  to  supplement  public  school  work  for  a  time 
in  certain  localities  and  under  certain  conditions,  should  as  rapidly 
as  possible  transfer  their  activities  into  lines  of  work  which  for 
some  years  cannot  be  a  part  of  the  public  school  system  or  be 
carried  on  through  state  or  county  agencies;  such,  for  example,  as 
courses  in  rural  sociology,  dietetics,  and  home  making;  kinder- 
garten classes,  music,  physical  training,  and  the  furnishing  of  rec- 
reational activities;  agricultural  experiment,  demonstration,  and 
extension  work;  forestry;  public  health  work;  the  encouragement 
of  co-operative  enterprises  of  different  kinds,  such  as  dairying, 
stores,  buying,  selling,  borrowing,  and  banking.  We  might  pro- 
long much  further  the  list  of  methods  and  movements  intended 
to  better  living  conditions  in  community  and  section. ^  Which  of 
them  will  be  most  helpful  to  a  given  community  and  how  they  can 
be  initiated  most  successfully  will  depend  upon  the  needs  and  the 
resources  of  the  community  and  region  under  consideration  and 
upon  the  temper  and  character  of  the  people  who  live  there.  The 
institution  or  agency  which  wishes  to  adapt  its  work  to  local  needs 
must  take  into  account  all  these  factors.  Certain  lines  of  effort 
which  are  feasible  in  one  locality  will  not  be  desirable  in  another 
for  various  reasons,  and  in  all  cases  the  right  kind  of  leadership  is 
more  important  than  specified  courses  or  methods. 

Mn  a  population  with  so  large  a  percentage  of  illiteracy,  the  use  of  stereopticon 
and  motion  pictures  might  be  greatly  extended  to  give  stimulus  to  all  helpful  influ- 
ences and  agencies.  A  minister  serving  a  mountain  field  of  considerable  extent,  re- 
cently used  a  motion  picture  machine  on  a  circuit  which  included  a  number  of  com- 
munity centers  to  bring  a  crowd  together  and  secure  pledges  for  the  Red  Cross  and 
for  various  enterprises  of  general  benefit  to  the  community.  Films  of  travel,  in- 
dustry, comedy,  and  war  were  shown  with  marked  success,  even  though  regarded 
only  from  the  point  of  view  of  pledges  secured.  1 1  was  felt,  moreover,  that  the  effect 
upon  the  community  was  wholesome,  as  evidenced  by  the  hearty  laughter  of  the 
children  and  the  new  topics  of  conversation  afforded  the  older  people. 

The  machine  used  had  attachments  either  for  direct  or  indirect  lighting.  Where 
there  were  electric  lights  the  plug  was  inserted  in  a  socket;  where  there  were  no 
electric  lights  a  current  had  to  be  supplied.  Storage  batteries  did  not  prove  satis- 
factory, but  fortunately  the  main  road  through  the  county  had  been  improved  and 
was  passable  for  automobiles  a  good  part  of  the  year.  With  the  acquisition  of  a  Ford 
the  lecturer  was  able  to  generate  electricity  by  jacking  up  the  hind  wheels,  starting 
the  engine,  taking  the  current  from  the  headlights  and  running  it  to  the  lamp  house 
of  the  picture  machine.  The  sheet  he  tacked  on  walls  of  school  houses,  churches, 
and  even  on  the  outside  of  bunk  houses  at  logging  camps.  The  machine  was  set 
on  anything  available — boxes,  oil  barrels,  blocks  of  wood,  organs,  and  tables. 

309 


THE  SOUTHERN  HIGHLANDER 

Deserving  of  particular  study  and  attention  by  agencies  which 
wish  to  adapt  their  educational  work  more  closely  to  the  needs  of 
the  mountain  country,  is  the  Danish  folk  high  school.  There  are, 
too,  in  certain  foreign  countries,  a  number  of  interesting  move- 
ments for  carrying  instruction  in  household  and  farm  management 
to  outlying  homes  and  farms,  which  through  study  and  adaptation 
have  promise  for  the  mountains. 

Until  national  or  state  government  provides  for  a  corps  of  experts 
in  rural  education,  subject  to  the  call  of  rural  workers  needing  ad- 
vice, some  plants  now  run  as  schools  might  be  used  as  centers  to 
which  those  who  wished  to  become  informed  on  mountain  condi- 
tions might  go  for  study.  The  great  danger  in  calling  in  outside 
experts  is  that  their  experience,  gained  in  a  different  environment, 
prompts  them  to  suggest  methods  and  measures  impracticable  and 
often  impossible  in  the  average  mountain  home  or  on  the  mountain 
farm.  In  a  center  such  as  suggested,  advice  and  assistance  could 
be  obtained  from  resident  experts  who  had  actually  tried  out  locally 
many  of  the  measures  they  would  advocate. 

With  this  center  might  co-operate  national  organizations  for 
the  promotion  of  public  health,  state  boards  of  health,  departments 
of  agriculture  and  education  of  state  and  nation,  and  other  scientific 
and  philanthropic  agencies.  Assurance  of  such  co-operation  and 
even  definite  examples  of  co-operation  with  individual  schools  have 
already  been  given  by  state,  government,  and  national  agencies. 
Here,  too,  might  assemble  at  certain  seasons  of  the  year  the  teach- 
ers of  the  public  schools  of  the  mountains  to  be  themselves  taught 
by  teachers  of  rural  subjects  from  Southern  teachers'  training 
schools,  who  through  special  provisions  would  form  as  it  were  a 
peripatetic  faculty. 

Such  a  center  or  settlement,  financed  in  part  by  an  inter- 
denominational group,  in  part  perhaps  by  national  and  private 
organizations  which  were  endeavoring  to  meet  the  rural  side  of 
their  particular  problem,  and  supplemented  possibly  by  contribu- 
tions from  philanthropic  boards,  may  seem  the  vision  of  the 
dreamer,  but  is,  we  believe,  possible  of  realization. 

For  the  improvement  of  health  conditions  in  the  mountains,  the 
work  directed  by  one  of  the  national  associations  for  the  promotion 
of  public  health  would  seem  most  promising.     Especially  useful 

310 


AVENUES  FOR  CONTACT  AND  PROGRESS 

would  be  a  "  pioneer"  public  health  nursing  corps  co-operating  with 
state  and  local  agencies;  the  building  of  rural  hospitals  in  needy 
centers  where  local  physicians  are  competent;  and  the  bringing  in 
of  experts  and  specialists  for  clinics,  lectures,  and  health  propa- 
ganda of  various  kinds.  Movements  of  this  sort  would  not  arouse 
hostility  as  would  a  definite  campaign  to  place  better  physicians  in 
the  mountains,  supported  from  without,  in  competition  with  the 
native  physicians  depending  upon  local  fees.  • 

Better  health  requires  better  food,  better  cooked.  This  means 
greater  variety  in  what  is  raised  and  better  methods  of  raising  it, 
better  stock  better  cared  for,  as  well  as  innumerable  other  acces- 
sories of  wholesome  life,  many  of  which  depend  upon  the  soil,  the 
desire  to  till  it,  and  better  methods  of  tillage. 

it  was  shown  in  the  chapter  on  Resources  that  large  areas  of  the 
mountains  are  suited  to  agriculture.  There  is,  too,  a  quite  general 
desire  to  till  the  soil.  A  connection  with  the  country  which  has 
been  lost  elsewhere  and  which  many  are  seeking  personally  to  re- 
establish, has  never  been  severed  entirely.  The  old  plantation  sys- 
tem of  the  South  and  the  rural  character  of  its  life  have  tended  to 
preserve  the  idea  of  "the  country  gentleman" — a  worthy  idea  not 
yet  eradicated  by  an  extended  public  school  system  whose  influ- 
ences tend  cityward.  The  lawyer,  the  doctor,  and  other  profes- 
sional men  have  in  many  instances  not  yet  been  won  away  from  the 
soil,  but  keep  in  touch  with  it  through  residence  on  or  ownership 
of  farms  worked  under  their  general  oversight.  The  word  "  farmer," 
which  in  some  other  regions  carries  with  it  a  certain  suggestion  of 
inferiority,  in  the  South  retains  its  dignity.  This  holds  true  in 
Highlands  as  well  as  in  Lowlands,  and  the  repugnance  that  many 
elsewhere  who  most  need  help  feel  toward  country  life  need  not 
here  be  overcome. 

Students  who  have  been  forced  from  the  mountains  to  the  city 
by  overcrowding  on  the  soil  or  by  the  compulsion  of  urban  ideas 
stimulated  by  their  academic  training,  have  professed  a  preference 
for  the  farm  if  a  better  living  might  be  made  there.  This  desire  in 
the  hearts  of  many  of  the  best  mountain  youth  would  seem  to  in- 
dicate that  suitable  methods  of  agriculture  and  marketing  and  pro- 
visions for  acquiring  land  on  easy  terms  would  bring  about  a  great 
increase  in  farming  in  the  Highlands. 

311 


THE  SOUTHERN  HIGHLANDER 

In  the  South,  if  anywhere,  agricultural  schools  should  succeed. 
it  is  true,  however,  that  although  a  wide  desire  for  land  ownership 
exists,  the  need  of  better  training  to  develop  the  possibilities  of  the 
soil  is  not  so  generally  accepted  as  it  should  be.  The  feeling  exists 
that  agricultural  schools  are  schools  for  the  sons  of  farmers — schools 
in  which  they  may  get  what  the  sons  of  other  men  get  elsewhere. 
Often,  therefore,  students  attending  such  institutions  elect  the 
purely  academic  studies.  The  tendency  now  evidenced  in  a  very 
few  of  our  agricultural  schools  to  emphasize  the  cultural  through 
the  agricultural  rather  than  through  disassociated  courses,  should 
be  encouraged.  If  the  impression  be  given  that  an  agricultural 
school  is  merely  to  train  students  to  raise  produce  for  the  consump- 
tion of  social  classes  too  much  occupied  in  the  pursuit  or  promotion 
of  finer  things  to  engage  actively  in  the  production  of  the  material 
essentials  of  life,  agriculture  will  not  call  a  high  type  of  man.  Here, 
as  everywhere,  men  must  find  the  better  things  of  life  in  and 
through  the  work  they  do  to  live. 

As  yet,  agricultural  schools  are  not  numerous  enough  in  the 
mountains  to  permit  a  just  criticism  of  their  work.  In  a  few  state 
institutions  visited,  that  have  in  the  personnel  of  the  faculty  the 
promise  of  success,  meager  equipment  wars  against  growth.  In 
others  the  effects  of  the  palsying  touch  of  politics  are  seen.  The 
false  idea,  too  prevalent,  that  the  quality  of  a  school  is  determined 
by  numbers — that  a  large  school  is  a  good  school,  and  only  large 
ones  are  good — has  sometimes  led  to  the  selection  of  leaders  be- 
cause of  their  popularity  in  order  to  draw  students  and  thus  swell 
local  pride.  The  name  "agricultural  and  mechanical,"  so  com- 
monly applied  to  such  schools,  prompts  the  query  as  to  whether 
the  call  of  the  industrial  world  has  not  forced  the  emphasis  to  be 
placed  upon  the  mechanical  work  of  these  schools  at  the  cost  of 
the  agricultural. 

Some  of  the  state  universities  in  their  agricultural  colleges,  espe- 
cially in  their  agricultural  extension  departments,  are  doing  a  work 
of  wide  usefulness;  and  though  their  efforts  are  restricted  by  lack 
of  funds,  they  have  outlined  a  program  which  eventually  will  aid 
greatly  in  solving  the  agricultural  problem  of  the  Highlands.  Par- 
ticularly promising  is  the  co-operative  extension  work  in  agriculture 
and  home  economics  now  carried  on   in  the  different  states  by 

312 


AVENUES  FOR  CONTACT  AND  PROGRESS 

federal  and  state  departments  of  agriculture,  boards  of  education, 
state  universities  in  their  colleges  of  agriculture,  and  various  other 
agencies. 

in  this  connection  reference  should  be  made  to  the  county 
agricultural  agent,  supported  in  part  by  federal  and  state  funds 
under  the  Smith-Lever  Act,  and  in  part  by  county  appropriations. 
Such  anagent,  with  expert  training  inagriculture,havinganofficein 
a  county-seat  or  other  influential  center  where  he  can  be  found  at 
stated  times,  and  holding  himself  ready  at  other  times  to  go  with 
farmers  to  examine  soils,  to  give  advice  as  to  seed,  stock,  and  mar- 
keting, and  furthering  movements  for  better  roads  and  innumer- 
able other  useful  projects,  would  be  invaluable  in  remote  mountain 
sections.  Most  helpful,  too,  would  be  the  farm  bureau  movement 
to  form  associations  of  farmers  built  primarily  about  the  county 
agent,  and  now  so  strong  in  parts  of  the  country  as  to  be  amalga- 
mated into  state  bureaus,  and  recently  into  the  American  Farm 
Bureau  Association. 

It  must  be  remembered,  however,  that  both  county  agents  and 
county  farm  bureau  associations  presuppose  either  that  the  interest 
in  the  county  toward  improving  agriculture  is  sufficient  to  warrant 
an  appropriation  of  funds  for  that  purpose,  or  that  the  county  is 
already  producing  crops  of  importance  for  market.  Through  a 
large  part  of  the  remote  rural  areas  neither  of  these  suppositions  is 
true.  There  is  therefore  still  need  for  the  help  and  co-operation  of 
outside  agencies  in  promoting  the  agricultural  development  of  the 
mountains. 

Some  of  the  best  church  and  independent  schools  teaching 
agriculture  are  in  the  Greater  Appalachian  Valley  or  other  valley 
areas.  They  are  valuable  in  training  for  rural  life  on  soil  and  in 
surroundings  similar  to  those  where  the  instruction  is  given.  They 
should  be  encouraged  in  every  way,  for  they  contribute  greatly  to 
rural  life  as  a  whole  even  though  the  students  do  not  return  to  the 
mountains  proper. 

The  agricultural  instruction,  however,  needed  for  the  Highlands 
is  such  as  suits  training  and  tools  to  the  varied  mountain  topog- 
raphy and  soil.  Elevation,  slope,  and  other  conditions  must  be 
reckoned  with  if  success  is  to  be  won.  It  is  important,  therefore, 
that  if  agricultural  schools  be  established  by  church  and  inde- 

313 


THE  SOUTHERN  HIGHLANDER 

pendent  boards,  they  be  distributed  on  a  regional  basis,  or  provision 
be  made  whereby  the  central  school  may  have  outlying  stations 
regionally  distributed  where  instruction  suited  to  location  may  be 
given  at  stated  times.  Schools  that  take  the  mountain  youth  from 
his  home  environment,  however  well  they  may  train  him,  do  not 
help  to  solve  the  problems  of  the  mountains  unless  they  send  him 
back  equipped  with  a  training  that  will  enable  him  to  make  use 
of  the  resources  of  his  home  locality. 

In  the  various  courses  for  the  farm  youth,  and  in  courses  in  the 
many  household,  dairy,  and  farm  activities  in  which  women  have 
a  large  part  and  for  which  provision  should  be  made  likewise,  in- 
struction should  aim  to  show  the  best  thing  to  do  under  existing 
circumstances,  the  best  way  to  do  it,  and  the  changes  necessary 
to  bring  about  better  conditions.  The  nearer  instruction  is  brought 
to  the  different  localities,  communities,  and  homes,  the  better. 

With  a  discussion  of  methods  for  the  developing  of  agriculture, 
the  matter  of  farm  tenancy  needs  also  to  be  considered.  The  High- 
lands in  the  past  have  been  regarded  as  a  good  "poor  man's  coun- 
try" because  of  the  low  price  of  land  which  permitted  ownership 
by  purchase;  but  tenancy  is  increasing.  Figures  are  not  available 
to  show  the  extent  of  increase,  but  it  is  known  that  in  certain  areas 
of  the  mountains  it  is  growing.  In  approximately  one-half  of  the 
counties  of  the  mountain  region  more  than  30  per  cent,  and  in  some 
counties  more  than  one-half  of  the  white  farmers  are  tenants.^ 
Among  the  tenants  some  are  shiftless,  but  others  should  not  be  so 
classed.  The  latter  need  only  assistance  to  place  them  where  they 
belong — among  freeholders. 

A  few  owners  of  large  tracts  of  mountain  land  feel  their  responsi- 
bility for  the  native  population  of  their  estates.  The  women  have 
been  taught  -better  ways  of  weaving,  lace  making,  and  similar  home 
industries.  Instruction  in  dairying,  better  stock,  examples  in  road 
building  and  forestry  have  been  helpful  to  men  and  women  alike. 
Schooling  is  provided  for  the  children.  It  is  quite  generally  true, 
however,  that  these  benefits  are  enjoyed  only  by  tenants  or  em- 
ployes. 

If  what  might  be  termed  a  family  unit  school  could  be  begun  on 
one  of  these  large  estates,  in  which  the  tenant  farmer  and  his  sons 
^  United  States  census  for  1910,  Vols.  VI  and  VI  I. 
314 


AVENUES  FOR  CONTACT  AND  PROGRESS 

could  be  given  agricultural  training,  his  wife  and  daughters  instruc- 
tion in  home  keeping,  fireside  industries,  dairying,  household  nurs- 
ing, care  of  children,  and  so  forth,  and  the  children  taught  in  a 
school  adapted  to  rural  needs,  a  good  beginning  in  corrective  meas- 
ures would  be  made,  in  such  a  school  the  owners  of  large  estates, 
the  federal  and  state  departments  of  agriculture,  state  boards  of 
health,  nurses'  associations,  and  associations  for  the  betterment  of 
health  and  the  eradication  of  disease,  as  well  as  the  educational 
forces  of  the  state,  might  unite.  It  would  seem  that  some  of  the 
expense  necessary  for  such  an  undertaking  could  be  met  by  the 
tenants  through  increased  yields  from  the  farms,  a  third  or  half  of 
which  is  usually  the  tenant  rate  of  rental. 

If  hope  of  ownership  of  the  land  he  tilled,  or  of  other  land  upon 
which  he  was  placed  after  being  trained,  and  the  prospect  of  paying 
for  this  upon  equitable  terms  could  be  held  out  with  a  guarantee  of 
his  ownership,  despondency  in  the  tenant  would  give  way  to  hope. 
Some  method  looking  to  the  increase  of  the  number  of  small  land- 
holders is  worthy  of  careful  experimentation. 

How  co-operative  societies  in  Denmark  and  Ireland  have  freed  a 
population  from  debt  and  general  agricultural  depression  has  al- 
ready been  discussed  in  the  chapter  on  Resources.  It  would,  how- 
ever, be  unfair  to  leave  this  subject  without  reference  to  the  wider 
effects  and  possibilities  of  co-operative  undertakings.  In  Den- 
mark, for  example,  we  find  that  as  a  result  of  the  co-operative 
development,  which  can  hardly  be  dealt  with  here  apart  from  the 
educational  system,  the  rural  people  have  become  the  potential 
factor  in  the  politics  of  the  nation.  In  Ireland,  too,  the  co-opera- 
tive movement  is  acting,  slowly  but  steadily,  to  give  to  a  farming 
population  growing  in  intelligence  the  power  of  directing  the  des- 
tinies of  that  country.  Especially  interesting  is  the  organization 
of  the  United  Irishwomen,  a  co-operative  society  which  plans  to  do 
for  the  women  what  the  Irish  Agricultural  Organization  Society 
does  for  the  men,  and  which  lays  special  emphasis  upon  enlarging 
the  social  life  of  the  community  without  which,  as  Sir  Horace 
Plunkett  says,  "all  but  the  dullards  will  fly  to  town." 

Great  indeed  as  are  the  possibilities  in  co-operation  of  improving 
the  material  life  of  the  country,  the  aims  of  this  movement  are  far 
beyond  mere  economic  well-being.    May  we  quote  once  more  from 
22  313 


THE  SOUTHERN  HIGHLANDER 

Mr.  RusselP  who,  better  than  anyone  else,  describes  the  scope  of 
the  co-operative  ideal: 

I  would  like  to  exile  the  man  who  would  set  limits  to  what  we 
can  do,  who  would  take  the  crown  and  sceptre  from  the  human 
will  and  say,  marking  out  some  petty  enterprise  as  the  limit: 
"Thus  far  can  we  go  and  no  farther,  and  here  shall  our  life  be 
stayed."  Therefore  1  hate  to  hear  of  stagnant  societies  who  think 
because  they  have  made  butter  well  they  have  crowned  their 
parochial  generation  with  a  halo  of  glory  and  they  can  rest 
content  with  the  fame  of  it  all,  listening  to  the  whirr  of  the 
steam  separators  and  pouching  in  peace  of  mind  the  extra  penny 
a  gallon  for  their  milk.  And  1  dislike  the  little  groups  who  meet 
a  couple  of  times  a  year  and  call  themselves  co-operators  because 
they  have  got  their  fertilisers  more  cheaply  and  have  done 
nothing  else.  Why,  the  village  gombeen  man  has  done  more 
than  that!  He  has  at  least  brought  most  of  the  necessaries  of 
life  there  by  his  activities;  and  1  say,  if  we  co-operators  do  not 
aim  at  doing  more  than  the  Irish  Scribes  and  Pharisees  we  shall 
have  little  to  be  proud  of.  A  poet  interpreting  the  words  of 
Christ  to  His  followers  who  had  scorned  the  followers  of  the  old 
order  made  Him  say: 

"Scorn  ye  their  hopes,  their  tears,  their  inward  prayers? 
1  say  unto  you,  see  that  your  souls  live 
A  deeper  life  than  theirs." 

The  co-operative  movement  is  delivering  over  the  shaping  of  the 
rural  life  of  Ireland,  and  the  building  up  of  its  rural  civilisation, 
into  the  hands  of  Irish  farmers.  The  old  order  of  things  has  left 
Ireland  unlovely.  But  if  we  do  not  passionately  strive  to  build 
it  better,  better  for  the  men,  for  the  women,  for  the  children,  of 
what  worth  are  we? 

That  co-operative  societies  are  not  impossible  in  the  mountains 
despite  the  Highlander's  individualism,  has  already  been  demon- 
strated by  the  success  of  the  cheese  factories  previously  cited  and 
by  isolated  instances  of  co-operative  canning,  buying  and  selling, 
personal  credit  societies,  and  so  forth.  These  movements  merely 
need  initiation  in  local  centers  and  a  little  wise  fostering  to  prove 
their  immense  value  as  agents  in  neighborhood  well-being,  not  only 
material  but  social  and  moral. 

1  Russell,  George  W.:  "Ideals  of  the  New  Rural  Society,"  in  The  United  Irish- 
women, their  Place,  Work,  and  Ideals,  by  Horace  Plunkett,  Ellice  Pilkington,  and 
George  W.  Russell  ("A.  E."),  p.  39-40.     Dublin,  Maunsel  and  Co.,  Ltd.,  191 1. 

316 


AVENUES  FOR  CONTACT  AND  PROGRESS 

The  writer  has  in  mind  a  certain  co-operative  store,  started 
through  the  efforts  of  a  worker  in  a  remote  community,  which 
paid  5  per  cent  dividends  on  the  amount  of  purchases  in  addition  to 
the  4  per  cent  interest  on  investment  the  first  year.  The  second 
year  business  was  doubled,  and  plans  are  now  under  way  for  a  new 
building  and  increased  stock.  When  one  realizes  that  the  moun- 
tain store  is  the  gathering  place  of  the  neighborhood  and  in  a  sense 
the  arbiter  as  well  as  the  reflector  of  its  standards,  he  will  realize 
that  the  effects  on  the  community  of  a  clean  building  in  which  a 
more  generous  variety  of  stock  than  is  customary  is  offered,  in 
which  order  and  a  strict  business  integrity  are  preserved,  and  in 
which  all  the  community  has  a  real  interest,  cannot  be  measured  in 
dollars  and  cents.  Among  the  results  most  apparent  have  been  the 
variety  introduced  into  the  diet  of  the  community,  improvement  in 
dress,  increasing  demand  for  higher  classes  of  goods,  more  careful 
management  of  other  business  enterprises,  and  a  growing  co-opera- 
tive spirit.  It  is  the  hope  of  those  who  are  the  guiding  spirits  of  the 
enterprise  that  this  co-operative  store  may  gradually  become  the 
center  of  a  healthful  social  community  life. 

When  we  remember  the  small  beginnings  of  the  Templecrone 
society,  described  in  a  previous  chapter,  undertakings  such  as  the 
above  seem  fraught  with  large  promise  for  the  mountain  country. 

Matters  of  church  cannot  be  dealt  with  so  directly  without  great 
risk.  A  sympathetic  spirit  toward  all  churches  and  workers  seek- 
ing to  impart  a  deeper  knowledge  of  things  spiritual  is  essential.  If 
some  have  a  wide  vision  and  others  narrowness  of  view  resulting 
from  limiting  circumstances,  it  is  incumbent  upon  those  with  the 
wider  vision  to  exercise  a  broader  charity.  Men  and  women  with 
this  larger  spirit,  sent  to  minister  through  the  foreign  and  native 
churches  and  schools  of  the  mountains,  will  serve  as  beacons  to 
dispel  any  darkness  that  may  exist.  The  Highlander  like  other 
men  "  must  needs  love  the  highest  when  he  sees  it."  He  has  the 
power  of  vision,  but  he  needs  more  beacons  to  illumine  his  way. 

Although  the  field  is  so  large  and  inaccessible  as  to  make  over- 
lapping of  effort  in  school  work  rare,  and  in  church  work  not  gen- 
eral, there  is  already  enough  of  overlapping — and  a  possibility  of 
more  as  the  field  opens — to  call  for  a  consideration  of  questions  of 
federation  and  division  of  territory.    Such  matters  must  be  left  to 

3'7 


THE  SOUTHERN  HIGHLANDER 

the  organizations  best  able  to  deal  with  them  and  least  affected  by 
local  influences;  namely,  the  Federal  Council  of  the  Churches  of 
Christ  in  America,  religious  foundations,  and  other  bodies  whose 
object  it  is  to  promote  federation,  union,  and  comity  among 
denominations.  Representatives  of  such  bodies,  speaking  at  moun- 
tain conferences  and  meeting  leading  men  of  the  various  churches 
already  at  work  in  the  mountains,  would  probably  effect  a  greater 
service  than  would  movements  for  union  or  church  federation  at- 
tempted alone  by  individuals  within  particular  communities.  In 
a  rural  community  in  need  of  breadth  of  spirit,  suspicion  is  often 
aroused  if  a  particular  church  or  minister  seeks  union  or  federation. 
Unhappily,  the  church  most  needing  the  benefits  of  such  effort  is 
wont  to  assume  that  the  body  setting  it  in  motion  has  some  hidden 
motive  and  will  reap  the  sole  profits. 

There  are,  however,  in  every  community  certain  activities  in 
which  all  churches  can  unite — activities  that  do  not  bear  in  any 
way  upon  church  polity,  doctrine,  or  practice— such  as  the  sup- 
pression of  vice  and  the  enforcement  of  laws  drawn  for  the  good  of 
the  community.  These  are  points  of  beginning.  The  likelihood 
that  jealousies  and  suspicions  will  obstruct  if  one  church  or  a  par- 
ticular minister  begins  the  movement,  will  decrease  with  the  in- 
crease of  men  who  see  that  true  leadership  does  not  necessitate 
prominence  in  the  movement.  Wise  ministers  will  keep  in  the 
background  and  put  forward  laymen  in  whom  the  community  has 
confidence,  or  permit  the  minister  of  the  predominant  faith  to  take 
the  lead. 

Too  great  praise  cannot  be  accorded  the  splendid  men  and  women 
who  have  remained  year  after  year,  broadening  local  community 
life  by  the  contagious  inspiration  of  their  wide  vision  and  broad 
charity.  Adequate  compensation  cannot  be  given  such  laborers,  but 
the  churches,  and  independent  boards  as  well,  must  pay  larger 
salaries  than  they  do  in  order  that  the  qualified  workers  who  re- 
main with  efficiency  increased  by  long  experience  and  wide  ac- 
quaintance may  grow  in  numbers.  Self-sacrifice  is  a  splendid  thing, 
but  when  the  constituency  of  so-called  mission  work  imposes  sacri- 
fice upon  those  at  the  front  when  such  sacrifice  is  unnecessary,  it  is 
something  akin  to  crime.  With  many  of  the  necessities  of  life 
excessively  high  in  accessible  markets,  doubled  in  price  because  of 

318 


AVENUES  FOR  CONTACT  AND  PROGRESS 

the  long,  hard  cross-country  haul,  it  is  idle  to  argue  that  the  cost 
of  living  is  low  in  the  remote  rural  sections.  There  are  few  so- 
called  "social  demands"  entailing  personal  expenditure,  but  calls 
to  relieve  others  more  needy  are  numerous  and  urgent. 

The  day  should  be  past  when  workers  for  rural  welfare  are  forced 
because  of  waste,  indifference,  mistakes,  mismanagement,  or  over- 
heavy  cost  of  administration  to  accept  their  wage  largely  "  in  the 
consciousness  of  disinterested  service  to  the  needy,"  supplemented 
by  an  occasional  "mission  barrel"  containing  clothes  they  cannot 
wear  or  theological  books  from  the  attics  of  our  great-grandfathers. 
They  should  be  supported  well,  even  if  it  is  necessary  to  close  some 
activities  already  begun.  No  loss  to  the  Kingdom  would  ensue  if 
some  other  Christian  denomination  should  come  in  and  take  the 
outposts  thus  abandoned. 

Among  the  religious  bodies  not  denominational  that  may  have 
a  direct  and  active  part  in  constructive  measures  in  the  mountains, 
are  the  Young  Men's  and  the  Young  Women's  Christian  Associa- 
tions. These  organizations  through  their  county  work  have  a  rich 
field,  and  if  they  were  properly  manned  they  could  be  the  stimu- 
lators of  various  federated  activities,  it  would  be  wise,  in  the 
mountains,  to  emphasize  the  non-denominational  character  of  the 
Young  Men's  Christian  Association,  but  to  avoid  giving  the  im- 
pression that  it  has  come  to  do  a  work  that  the  county  churches 
are  failing  to  do.  If  there  be  in  the  state  or  section  a  federation 
of  churches,  the  Association  would  do  well  to  show  that  it  was  at 
work  with  the  knowledge  and  sympathy  of  the  denominations 
which  have  local  churches  in  the  mountains  and  representation  in 
the  federation.  When  there  is  no  such  federation,  or  where  the 
strong  local  denomination  has  not  yet  joined  the  church  federation 
movement,  it  would  seem  advisable  to  select  broad-minded  Young 
Men's  Christian  Association  secretaries  whose  church  connection 
is  v/ith  the  denomination  strongest  in  the  county. 

The  Young  Men's  and  the  Young  Women's  Christian  Associa- 
tions might  also  find  a  special  field  for  service  in  supplying  and 
stimulating  recreation.  The  young  people  of  the  mountains  as  a 
whole  do  not  know  how  to  play.  They  need  to  be  directed  into 
lines  of  wholesome  vigorous  activity.  No  definite  program  can  be 
suggested.    Here,  as  elsewhere,  it  will  not  be  enough  to  supply  the 

3>9 


THE  SOUTHERN  HIGHLANDER 

means.  There  must  be  definite  fostering  and  supervision,  and  in 
places  a  traditional  and  religious  opposition  must  be  overcome 
sympathetically  and  tactfully.  The  greater  use  of  music — of  com- 
munity singing  in  particular — would  be  helpful,  as  well  as  the  en- 
couragement of  games  in  which  all  may  take  part,  folk  dancing, 
and  sports  of  various  kinds. 

There  are  other  movements  not  needing  financial  assistance  from 
a  philanthropic  board  that  would  be  of  benefit.  The  industrial 
departments  of  railroads,  for  example,  might  be  brought  to  see 
the  advantage  of  promoting  industry  not  alone  in  communities  on 
their  lines,  but  in  territory  that  might  easily  be  tributary  to  their 
lines  through  a  better  system  of  county  roads. 

The  immigration  departments  of  difl'erent  states,  interested  in 
populating  uninhabited  regions  or  reclaimed  lowlands,  might  find 
it  worth  while  to  locate  people  familiar  with  upland  culture  on 
mountain  lands.  Too  often  such  colonization  schemes  conducted 
by  private  enterprise  have  as  their  ruling  motive  the  selling  of 
inferior  tracts  to  unsuspecting  foreigners  at  exorbitant  prices,  and 
one  colony  at  least  in  the  Highlands  has  suffered  such  exploitation. 
The  success  after  years  of  struggle  of  its  few  colonists  without 
direction,  upon  poor  mountain  land,  gives  ground  for  the  belief 
that  people  accustomed  to  labor  would  win  great  and  early  success 
in  the  Highlands  if  from  the  time  of  their  settlement  they  might 
be  directed  by  trained  m.en  and  women  in  farming,  dairying,  and 
marketing. 

Up  to  this  point  we  have  dwelt  largely  upon  a  number  of  things 
that  might  be  done.  Inasmuch  as  the  region  is  a  varied  one  and 
there  are  particular  needs  in  particular  places,  the  fewest  mis- 
takes would  be  made  if  frequent  conference  and  interchange  of 
ideas  might  take  place  between  those  outside  the  mountains  who 
are  attempting  new  lines  of  rural  work  which  might  be  suited  to 
this  section,  and  those  within  the  mountains  who  are  striving  to 
adapt  their  work  to  meet  local  needs.  Advice  and  counsel  should 
also  be  sought  from  those  workers  who  by  long  residence  in  the 
mountains  have  an  intimate  knowledge  of  their  respective  sections. 
Not  the  least  benefits  of  such  a  plan  would  come  through  mutual 
understanding  and  sympathy  between  public,  private,  and  church 
organizations. 

320 


AVENUES  FOR  CONTACT  AND  PROGRESS 

In  tl.e  furtherance  of  such  a  plan,  an  interdenominational  Gm- 
ference  of  Southern  Mountain  Workers  has  been  held  in  Knoxville, 
Tennessee,  for  the  last  seven  years.  Before  this  conference  have 
been  brought  speakers  who  by  knowledge  and  experience  were 
fitted  to  discuss  certain  phases  of  mountain  life  and  work,  and 
representatives  of  state,  federal,  and  national  organizations,  as  well 
as  of  denominational  and  philanthropic  agencies  especially  inter- 
ested in  the  improvement  of  rural  conditions.  Workers  in  the 
mountain  field,  native  and  foreign,  many  of  whom  would  not  be 
able  because  of  the  small  salaries  received  to  attend  larger  national 
conferences,  have  thus  had  an  opportunity  to  learn  something  of 
measures  that  have  proved  successful  both  within  and  without 
the  Highlands.  Such  workers  shut  off  in  small  communities  dur- 
ing the  greater  part  of  the  year,  and  giving  largely  of  their  mental 
and  physical  strength,  require  the  inspiration  that  comes  from  the 
vision  of  leaders  who  see  the  needs  of  the  individual  and  com- 
munity, but  see  them  as  part  of  a  larger  whole  for  whose  ad- 
vancement all  are  co-workers.  The  peculiar  value  of  the  conference 
has  been  its  small  size  (generally  not  over  one  hundred  and  fifty) 
and  the  frank  and  thorough  discussion  of  all  methods,  educational, 
agricultural,  and  social,  which  has  taken  place  from  the  floor. 

There  are  ways,  also,  in  which  through  the  establishment  of 
local  connections  helpful  measures  may  be  introduced  without  any 
great  preliminary  conference.  As  has  been  indicated,  there  are 
times  and  seasons  in  the  mountains  when  people  can  be  reached 
in  large  groups — "court  week,"  county  teachers'  institutes,  and 
"laying-by  time,"  the  especial  season  of  "protracted  meetings." 
Through  bringing  experts  and  men  of  prominence,  ministers,  educa- 
tors, and  laymen  by  local  invitation  to  such  gatherings,  much  can 
be  done  to  awaken  a  right  public  opinion  without  creating  the 
impression  that  pressure  is  being  exerted  from  without. 

It  seems  needless  to  dwell  upon  the  many  influences  that  may  be 
set  in  motion.  Innumerable  adaptations  of  methods  now  in  use 
elsewhere  suggest  themselves  as  helpful,  but  in  the  way  of  organiza- 
tion all  that  seems  necessary  has  been  indicated:  study,  counselors, 
local  centers,  and  some  means  of  connection  between  helpful  men 
and  v/omen  and  associations  and  movements  within  the  mountains. 


321 


THE  SOUTHERN  HIGHLANDER 

and  helpful  men  and  women  and  associations  and  movements  with- 
out the  mountains. 

Such  a  plan  of  continuous  study  and  connection  would  eventu- 
ally result  in  the  greatest  good  to  the  mountains  as  a  whole.  The 
work  as  outlined  is  not  the  work  of  a  year  nor  of  a  decade,  but  of  a 
generation,  perhaps  of  several  generations.  It  will  often  be  nec- 
essary to  feel  one's  way.  Not  infrequently  progress  will  seem  very 
slow,  but  the  end  in  view  will  make  the  effort  worth  while.  Meas- 
ures found  to  be  wise  and  made  operative  through  a  long  period 
of  time  will  bring  the  longed-for  results.  Emphasis  will  be  placed 
at  one  time  and  in  certain  localities  upon  one  thing;  and  at  other 
times  and  in  other  places  upon  another;  but  the  movement,  though 
leaning  now  this  way  and  now  that,  if  wisely  controlled  will  go  on 
as  a  movable  equilibrium  to  the  goal. 


322 


CHAPTER  XIV 
THE  NEW  BASIS  OF  APPEAL 

A  FEW  months  ago  the  writer  was  traveling  up  the  lovely 
Valley  of  East  Tennessee,  out  from  the  early  capital,  past 
L  the  spot  where  grew  the  first  institution  of  learning  west 
of  the  Alleghenies,  and  on  to  that  region  where,  one  hundred  and 
fifty  years  ago,  was  raised  the  cabin  of  the  first  white  settler  in  the 
wilderness  beyond  the  mountains. 

He  had  just  come  from  a  mountain  conference  attended  by  al- 
most two  hundred  people,  among  whom  were  representatives  of 
thirteen  denominations  doing  work  within  the  Highlands,  state  and 
federal  officials  interested  in  advancing  in  various  ways  the  pros- 
perity of  the  Highland  country,  and  many  individuals — Highland- 
ers, Lowlanders,  Northerners,  and  Southerners — all  of  whom  were 
present  because  they  had  at  heart  the  welfare  of  the  Highland 
people. 

His  mind  was  upon  the  meeting  which  to  him  had  been  an  in- 
spiration. It  seemed  a  great  thing  that  all  these  people  of  different 
sections,  different  faiths,  and  different  training,  could  come  to- 
gether and  discuss  frankly  the  educational,  religious,  social,  and 
economic  measures  which  had  in  them  promise  for  the  Highlands 
of  the  future. 

A  long  time  he  sat  silent,  scarce  seeing  the  green  valley  which 
unfolded  on  either  hand,  his  thought  dwelling  on  the  gathering 
and  on  the  assurance  that  it  seemed  to  give  of  increasing  under- 
standing and  co-operation  which  could  result  only  in  progress. 
Many  as  had  been  the  changes  of  the  last  twenty-five  years,  the 
coming  years  were  to  bring  far  deeper  and,  he  hoped,  more  fruitful 
changes  for  the  mountain  country.  It  should  indeed  "blossom 
abundantly,  and  rejoice,  even  with  joy  and  singing." 

He  was  aroused  from  his  reverie  by  a  man's  seating  himself  be- 
side him.    He  proved  to  be  a  minister  who  had  been  present  at  the 

323 


THE  SOUTHERN  HIGHLANDER 

conference,  and  who  belonged  to  a  denomination  doing  much  good 
work  in  the  Highlands.  Turning  to  him  the  writer  commented 
upon  the  spirit  of  comradeship  and  good-will  that  had  been  mani- 
fested in  the  meeting,  upon  the  evident  desire  to  get  at  the  truth, 
whatever  it  might  be,  and  to  apply  such  remedies  as  the  truth 
demanded  and  added,  "  If  those  who  go  out  to  raise  money 
would  only  qualify  their  statements,  and  say  first  that  they  are 
speaking  of  the  section  where  they  are  working,  not  necessarily  of 
all  the  Highlands,  and  tell  of  the  changes  which  are  taking  place 
and  what  the  Highlanders  themselves  and  the  Southern  states  are 
doing  to  bring  about  these  changes,  as  well  as  what  is  being  done 
by  denominational  agencies,  there  would  be  fewer  misunder- 
standings." 

It  was  a  subject  close  to  the  writer's  heart,  and  he  may  have 
spoken  more  emphatically  than  was  necessary  when  he  denounced 
the  unfairness  of  citing  local  and  particular  instances  in  such  a 
way  as  to  give  the  impression  that  they  were  universal  and  typical. 

The  minister  shook  his  head. 

"  It  is  all  very  well  to  talk  in  that  way,"  he  said,  "but  it  doesn't 
raise  money.  The  instances  cited  by  workers  who  come  before  us 
are  true,  whether  they  are  true  of  the  whole  mountain  section  or 
not.  The  contributing  public  doesn't  want  to  hear  about  change 
and  progress,  and  about  improvements  other  people  have  made. 
It  wants  to  hear  the  pathetic  and  the  picturesque — to  feel  that  the 
mountaineer  is  dependent  upon  its  charity.  As  far  as  1  am  con- 
cerned, I  believe  it  is  right  for  the  speakers  to  say  such  things  if  it 
will  bring  them  money.  They  might  as  well.  Everybody  is  doing 
it!" 

The  arrival  of  the  train  at  a  junction  put  an  end  to  the  dis- 
cussion which  had  come  to  an  impasse.  The  minister  stepped 
back  into  his  Pullman  reservation,  and  the  writer  stopped  to  make 
connections  for  the  railway  point  nearest  a  remote  section  which 
he  had  not  visited  for  ten  years. 

It  must  be  admitted  that  he  was  both  stirred  and  disheartened. 
If  a  minister  of  intelligence  could  attend  a  gathering  such  as  had 
recently  met,  and  come  away,  willing  for  the  sake  of  getting  con- 
tributions to  perpetuate  general  impressions  which  were  not  gen- 
erally true  and  consciously  to  give  offense,  and  could  justify  his 

324 


THE  NEW  BASIS  OF  APPEAL 

position  by  the  statement,  "  Everyone  is  doing  it,"  what  hope 
would  there  be  of  ever  securing  real  understanding  and  sym- 
pathetic co-operation? 

Subconsciously  he  realized  that  the  attitude  just  expressed  did 
not  represent  that  of  most  of  the  people  who  had  attended  the  con- 
ference nor  that  of  the  majority  of  those  working  in  the  mountains; 
yet  he  had  to  admit  that  it  was  the  attitude  of  some  who  delivered, 
and  many  who  went  to  hear  addresses  on  the  Southern  Highlands. 
After  all,  were  these  speakers  and  listeners  so  fundamentally  honest 
as  the  talented  young  Highland  politician  who  had  sought  him  at 
the  close  of  a  church  address  to  admit  that  he  had  played  politics 
and  bought  votes  to  secure  his  last  office?  "  Everyone  is  doing  it, 
but  it's  like  you  said,"  he  confessed.  "  I  had  a  little  boy  born  the 
other  day,  and  1  couldn't  look  him  in  the  face  if  he  grows  up  and 
fmds  his  father  is  dishonest." 

Deep  in  reflection,  he  crossed  the  city  to  the  station  from  which 
he  was  to  leave  for  his  more  distant  destination.  The  little  Valley 
metropolis  he  had  not  seen  for  some  years  had  changed  almost  be- 
yond belief;  it  had  indeed  shown  an  increase  of  almost  lOO  per 
cent  in  population  in  the  decade  between  1900  and  1910.  Two 
railroads  now  passed  through  it,  competing  for  transportation  of 
the  vast  stores  of  coal  hidden  away  in  the  mountains  to  north  and 
west;  and  to  the  east  extended  a  narrow-gauge  railway  which  fol- 
lowed the  gentle  valley  of  the  Watauga  and  tapped  the  iron 
deposits  of  those  lofty  ridges  which  Daniel  Boone  had  crossed  on 
his  way  to  "  Kaintucke"  from  his  home  on  the  Yadkin  in  North 
Carolina. 

It  was  a  beautiful,  warm  spring  day,  and  he  stood  on  the  plat- 
form to  watch  the  narrow-gauge  engine  with  its  train  of  miniature 
cars  puff  away  toward  the  mountain  wall.  A  tall  lean  Highland 
boy,  on  the  shoulder  of  whose  army  coat  was  blazoned  a  wildcat, 
limped  across  the  track  and  leaned  against  the  station  in  the  sun. 
He  had  a  handsome  reckless  face,  and  keen  eyes  that  vouched  for 
the  sharpshooter's  medal  on  his  breast.  Visible  on  his  sleeve  were 
three  gold  stripes.  His  story  was  that  of  many  others.  Volunteer- 
ing early,  he  had  seen  much  service,  killed  seven  Germans  he  knew 
of,  and  had  fallen  at  last  in  a  hand-to-hand  encounter,  wounded  in 
arm,  side,  and  back.    Another  soldier  loitered  by,  a  big  cheerful 

325 


THE  SOUTHERN  HIGHLANDER 

fellow  on  his  way  home — home  being  the  community  to  which  the 
writer  was  going.  Further  conversation  revealed  the  fact  that  he 
was  a  graduate  of  one  of  the  larger  mountain  schools. 

"And  what  are  you  going  to  do  now?" 

"  1  reckon  I'll  stay  home  and  farm  awhile." 

A  short  ride  brought  us  to  the  little  town  from  which  the  writer 
ten  years  before  had  started  into  the  remote  mountains.  It  was 
now  paved  and  built  up  with  trim  frame  houses.  A  china  factory 
had  recently  been  located  here  which  was  using  the  fine  clays  native 
to  the  region.  Here,  too,  was  a  silk  mill  where  raw  silk  imported 
direct  from  China  was  spooled. 

Climbing  into  a  Ford  car  we  swung  on  out  into  the  country. 
The  old  road  which  once  had  found  its  way  along  the  margins  of 
the  creek  bottom  had  been  replaced  by  a  new  highway  which  the 
county  had  taxed  itself  the  previous  year  to  build  at  the  cost  of 
^200,000.  It  had  taken,  before,  almost  a  day  to  ride  by  muleback 
the  twenty  miles  to  the  journey's  end,  crossing  the  winding  stream 
twenty-one  times  in  its  course.  Now  our  Ford  covered  the  distance 
in  an  hour. 

The  returned  soldier  was  leaning  out  to  greet  the  many  friends 
whom  he  passed,  but  the  writer  as  he  watched  the  loops  of  the  new 
highway  curving  ahead  in  the  old  landscape  could  not  but  wonder 
what  the  minister  would  have  said.  Probably  he  would  have  seen 
only  the  mud  holes  which  undeniably  did  exist,  the  log-houses  that 
still  remained  here  and  there,  and  the  single  razor-back  hog  that 
viewed  the  car  suspiciously  from  a  vantage  point  on  the  hill. 

The  country  was  indeed  a  strange  mingling  of  new  and  old,  whose 
contrasts  were  not  less  striking  in  that  once  remote  part  of  the 
mountains  where  at  last  we  reached  our  destination.  As  in  our 
national  capital  the  young  and  prosperous  lived  side  by  side  with 
the  old  and  humble;  the  modern  was  close  to  the  pioneer.  The 
mother  who  ran  to  greet  her  soldier  son  from  overseas,  left  quilting 
frame  at  the  challenge  of  the  automobile  horn.  A  father  whose  boy 
had  taken  advantage  of  a  motor  truck  to  slip  away  to  the  city, 
could  only  pursue  him  on  horseback,  but  he  made  up  for  lack  of 
speed  by  warning  the  sheriff  by  means  of  the  rural  telephone. 

In  a  nearby  settlement  a  mountain  funeral  brought  people  on 
foot,  on  horse  and  muleback,  riding  single  and  riding  double,  or 

326 


THE  NEW  BASIS  OF  APPEAL 

seated  in  chairs  set  in  the  beds  of  hacks  or  wagons;  but  also  waiting 
beyond  the  new  cement  bridge  which  spanned  the  main  stream 
were  twelve  automobiles,  and  not  all  Fords  either.  At  this  point, 
however,  the  triumph  of  the  ancient  over  the  modern  was  complete, 
for  the  automobile  travelers  were  forced  to  descend,  cross  the 
branch  by  a  foot-log,  and  walk  up  a  rough  track  to  the  old  log- 
house,  whose  great  squared  timbers  bespoke  their  survival  from 
early  days.  The  dress  of  the  company  gathered— some  hundred 
strong — showed  a  preponderance  of  city  clothes  and  hats,  but 
mingled  with  them  were  garments  of  homespun  and  the  old-time 
sunbonnet.  And  when  at  last  the  "fotched-on"  casket  was  lifted 
to  the  shoulders  of  six  strong  men,  the  long  procession  wound  up 
through  a  steep  grove  of  white  pines  to  the  hill-top,  where  county 
and  city  preacher  together  conducted  the  simple  service. 

On  another  day  a  good-roads  meeting  drew  our  household  and 
many  of  our  neighbors  to  the  county-seat.  The  morning  was  one 
of  April  sunshine.  Peach  and  feathery  plum  bloom  lined  the  road, 
and  the  mountain  slopes  on  either  side  the  creek  were  all  aflower 
with  "sarvice"  and  red-bud,  and  carpeted  below  with  blood-root, 
violets,  anemones,  Culver's  root,  and  cinquefoil.  Groups  of  walkers 
were  overtaken  who  had  passed  the  house  before  it  was  light  on 
their  twenty  or  more  mile  trip  to  the  court  house.  Among  the 
many  who  rode  were  women  cross-saddle,  one  whose  bright  red 
fascinator  was  curiously  out  of  keeping  with  her  modern  divided 
skirt. 

The  town  itself  had  assumed  the  appearance  incident  to  court 
day.  Men  thronged  the  street  corners  and  leaned  against  the  fence 
about  the  court  house.  Withm  the  building  every  seat  was  taken, 
and  when  after  a  number  of  speeches  the  motion  was  put  to  en- 
dorse the  good-roads  bill,  the  resolution  was  passed  by  a  unanimous 
vote  without  ceremony  of  discussion. 

From  the  eastern  belt  of  the  mountains  the  writer  recrossed  the 
Valley  to  the  western  region  of  coal  development.  Six  years  before 
he  had  been  able  to  approach  by  railroad  only  within  seven  miles 
of  the  gorge  where  the  Big  Sandy  breaks  through  the  walls  of  the 
Cumberlands,  and  that  on  a  logging  train.  The  friendly  "  captain  " 
refused  to  sell  him  a  ticket,  lest  in  case  of  accident  the  company 
be  held  responsible  for  damages,  but  he  advised  him  to  sit  near 

327 


THE  SOUTHERN  HIGHLANDER 

the  edge  of  the  piles  of  lumber  where  he  could  jump  if  the  car 
broke  away.  Now  the  traveler  thundered  along  at  the  base  of  the 
sheer  cliffs  on  a  well-equipped  train. 

At  the  little  station  where  he  again  changed  cars  he  talked  with 
the  waiting  group — a  miner  who  was  taking  his  sick  daughter  to 
one  of  the  camp  hospitals,  a  mine  manager  returning  from  the 
great  outer  world,  an  Italian  from  Turin  whose  knowledge  of  Eng- 
lish scarce  permitted  him  to  explain  the  difficulties  which  a  free 
drink  of  moonshine  had  brought  upon  him,  and  many  others,  men 
and  women  whose  lives  were  now  a  part  of  the  changed  life  of  the 
mountains. 

We  would  not  leave  the  impression  that  all  is  change  and  pro- 
gress even  in  the  coal  belt  of  the  Highlands.  Continuing  his  way  on 
horseback  from  the  bustling  mining  town  at  which  he  left  the  train, 
the  writer  drew  rein  within  a  few  hours'  ride  at  the  top  of  a  long 
lonely  hill  and  looked  far  down  to  the  hollow  at  its  base.  There, 
undisturbed  by  the  rush  of  industrial  life  drawing  ever  nearer, 
nestled  an  old  log-house  among  the  flowering  fruit  trees.  In  de- 
fiance of  the  coal  banks  close  at  hand,  the  wood  smoke  curled  in  a 
thin  blue  line  from  its  chimney,  and  borne  up  to  him  clearly  against 
the  echoing  hills,  where  families  plowed  and  planted  as  steep  slopes 
as  of  yore,  rose  the  quavering  measures  of  an  old  song. 

Most  of  his  journey  was  taken  over  roads  impassable  to  auto- 
mobiles, and  only  to  be  traversed  by  horseback  or  by  the  slower 
wagon  or  mail-hack.  As  of  old  he  saw  much  that  was  backward, 
but  it  is  equally  true  that  he  saw  much  quite  as  disheartening  where 
material  progress  had  swept  upon  a  people  unprepared  for  its  com- 
ing. There  is  sometimes  more  of  hope  in  the  old  than  in  the  new. 
Help  is  often  most  needed  where  changes  have  come  most  rapidly. 
But  the  changes  are  not  to  be  ignored. 

The  Highland  country  is  in  truth  a  land  of  paradoxes  and  con- 
tradictions, because  here  in  a  restricted  area  are  taking  place  all 
the  changes  that  are  going  on  in  the  world  elsewhere;  so  that  when 
one  seeks  to  give  a  general  statement  that  will  hold  true  of  remote 
areas,  the  close  juxtaposition  of  ancient  and  modern,  of  extreme 
conservatism  and  extreme  progressiveness  make  constant  quali- 
fication necessary. 

The  writer  knows  only  too  well  the  conditions  under  which  the 

328 


THE  NEW  BASIS  OF  APPEAL 

average  mountain  worker  has  had  to  raise  money  in  the  past — ten 
m.inutes  to  state  his  cause,  before  church  service,  after  the  sermon, 
or  to  the  children  of  the  Sunday  school;  and  out  of  the  money 
raised  he  often  must  pay  his  own  expenses.  Gathering  his  energies 
for  the  brief  time  at  his  disposal,  he  puts  forth  his  best  efforts. 
Even  if  he  is  familiar  with  the  changing  conditions  he  cannot  take 
time  to  educate  his  audience.  He  makes  the  most  effective  appeal 
he  can,  without  at  all  intending  to  deceive,  realizing  subcon- 
sciously that  most  people  give  through  feeling  and  sentiment.  He 
is  compelled  to  do  this  even  when  he  is  aware  of  the  diversity  of 
the  country  and  of  conditions  within  the  country.  Oftentimes, 
however,  he  is  not  aware  of  them,  and  does  not  qualify  his  state- 
ments because  he  cannot.  He  knows  his  own  circumscribed  field 
and  how  greatly  it  needs  help — and  necessarily  in  his  plea  he  dwells 
upon  the  picturesque  and  stirring.  If  he  be  a  speaker  from  with- 
out the  mountains  he  has  the  further  handicap,  or  it  may  be  the 
advantage,  of  not  being  able  to  measure  how  simple  mountain 
needs  really  are,  for  what  are  necessities  to  him  are  often  luxuries 
to  the  Highlander.  In  later  days,  since  boards  have  disbursed 
their  charities  through  the  apportionment  plan,  both  independent 
and  church  workers  who  seek  to  raise  money  must  put  their  cases 
more  strongly  than  ever  because  of  the  businesslike  way  in  which 
apportionments  are  made. 

Because  of  these  conditions  there  has  grown  up  a  certain  kind  of 
appeal  which  has  come  to  be  conventional  and  expected.  More  and 
more  secretaries  of  boards  are  studying  the  fields  under  their  super- 
vision. To  some  of  these  far-sighted  earnest  students  of  mountain 
needs  is  due  the  initiation  of  a  new  policy,  which  aims  at  an  under- 
standing not  only  by  the  workers  but  by  the  supporting  constitu- 
ency of  the  conditions  of  the  field  and  the  methods  that  have  in 
them  most  promise.  Appeal,  however,  is  still  too  often  made  by 
throwing  on  the  screen  pictures  of  the  past.  This  is  not  to  say  that 
there  are  not  similar  conditions  and  even  greater  needs  than  those 
which  existed  before,  but  petitions  for  help  should  be  coupled  with 
a  statement  of  what  is  being  done  by  the  Highlander  himself,  by 
the  Southern  states,  and  by  the  Federal  Government.  And  the 
advance  that  has  taken  place  should  not  be  attributed  to  "mission 
work"  only. 

329 


THE  SOUTHERN  HIGHLANDER 

Let  the  plea  be  changed  to  the  basis  of  the  rural  plea.  Admit 
frankly  that  there  is  a  need,  a  great  rural  need  throughout  the 
United  States,  and  that  it  is  especially  great  in  the  mountains 
because  conditions  are  intensified  by  topography.  The  South 
would  welcome  help  put  on  such  a  basis. 

Let  surveys  be  made  and  let  us  hear  their  findings.  Let  us  be 
sure,  if  possible,  that  we  have  the  facts.  If  we  cannot  get  facts,  let 
us  be  sure  we  have  presumptive  evidence,  and  so  state.  Let  us 
make  fewer  sweeping  statements,  and  not  justify  a  thing  that  is 
inherently  wrong  in  the  words  "  Everybody  is  doing  it,  and  we 
won't  get  any  money  if  we  do  not  follow  suit." 

More  things  are  possible  than  we  now  dream  of,  if  denominations 
and  agencies  sustaining  work  in  the  mountains  will  give  convincing 
evidence  of  a  willingness  to  work  together.  It  will  be  convincing 
if  we  actually  co-operate  and  do  not  stop  at  organizing  for  co- 
operation. Aside  from  the  visible  educational  and  material  benefits 
will  be  the  invisible  benefits  arising  from  an  assurance  of  oneness 
in  purpose. 

Too  many  schools  and  individuals  in  the  past,  who  have  'honestly 
sought  the  good  of  the  Highland  people,  have  antagonized  other 
institutions  and  agencies,  native  and  foreign,  and  limited  the  sphere 
of  their  influence  by  assuming  the  role  of  "star  players."  Others 
seemingly  forget  that  the  ultimate  solution  of  mountain  problems 
must  come  through  convincing  the  individualistic  mountaineer 
that  he  cannot  live  for  himself  alone,  and  through  enlisting  him  in 
co-operative  service  to  create  an  environment  that  will  breed  in 
his  children  the  community  spirit.  Co-operation  in  Christian  effort, 
which  emphasizes  the  essential  and  minimizes  the  non-essential, 
and  ultimately  finds  full  expression  in  united  effort,  is  what  we 
all  so  much  need. 

There  is  discouragement  in  all  work.  One  great  source  of  dis- 
couragement comes  from  the  desire  for  quick  tangible  results  that 
can  be  tabulated.  All  great  social  changes  are  in  their  initial 
stages  slow,  it  is  only  when  they  begin  to  move  by  their  own 
momentum  that  they  are  recognized. 

There  are  encouragements  in  all  work.  May  the  writer  close 
with  a  scene  and  lesson  that  he  has  never  forgotten?  Lost  in  the 
forest  late  one  afternoon,  hungry,  tired,  and  discouraged,  he  gave 

330 


THE  NEW  BASIS  OF  APPEAL 

rein  to  his  horse,  which  found  the  trail  and  brought  him  to  the 
head  of  a  mountain  cove  after  night  had  fallen  and  just  before  the 
full  moon  broke  through  the  clouds  that  had  obscured  it.  On  a 
sudden  that  which  appeared  dark  and  forbidding  became  marvel- 
ously  beautiful,  as  the  slopes  dotted  with  mica  flashed  back  the 
moonbeams.  There  is  the  solution  that  we  seek— light!— light  re- 
flected from  the  true  Light  shining  in  obscure  places,  that  what  is 
native  in  obscure  places  may,  itself  illumined,  help  to  dispel  the 
darkness. 


2?  331 


APPENDICES 


APPENDIX  A 

REGIONAL  DESCRIPTIONS  OF  STATE 
MOUNTAIN  AREAS 

ALABAMA 

THE  topography  of  Alabama  is  somewhat  confusing  inasmuch  as  the 
three  belts  of  the  Appalachian  Province  terminate  in  this  state  and 
merge  with  one  another  and  into  the  Gulf  Coastal  Plain.  We  may 
perhaps  get  a  clearer  idea  of  the  topography  of  the  mountainous  section  of 
this  state  if  in  imagination  we  take  our  stand  on  some  lofty  detached  look- 
out in  the  northeast,  where  Georgia,  Alabama,  and  Tennessee  join  their 
borders. 

Facing  the  southwest  and  giving  imagination  sway,  we  see  before  us  the 
much  divided  Greater  Appalachian  Valley  as  an  inland  sea.  On  our  right 
to  the  west  is  an  archipelago  whose  nearer  islands  are  sharp  and  irregular, 
while  its  more  remote  ones  are  smooth  and  flat.  These  represent  the 
isolated  peaks,  mesas,  and  remnants  which  make  up  that  part  of  the  Alle- 
gheny-Cumberland Plateau  north  of  the  Tennessee  River.  The  large 
island  directly  before  us,  with  comparatively  level  surface,  is  Sand  Moun- 
tain, and  the  reefs  to  the  southwest  of  it  represent  the  rough,  low-l\ing 
lands  of  the  Warrior  Basin  into  which  Sand  Mountain  and  its  spur,  Blount 
Mountain,  merge  beyond  the  southwest  border  of  Blount  County.  The 
large  island  on  the  left,  toward  the  south  and  east,  with  central  depression 
and  elevated  rim  cut  in  a  few  places  by  inlets,  represents  Lookout  Moun- 
tain. Farther  to  the  southeast,  on  the  mainland  that  marks  the  south- 
eastern border  of  our  fancied  midland  sea,  is  a  coastal  range,  the  Talla- 
dega Mountains,  the  southernmost  member  of  the  Blue  Ridge  Belt. 

.All  the  valleys  of  the  mountain  region  of  Alabama,  with  the  exception  of 
the  Valley  of  the  Tennessee  from  Guntersvillc,  where  the  river  leaves 
Browns  Valley, ^  have  a  northeasterly-southwesterly  trend,  and  may  be 
regarded  as  parts  of  the  Greater  Appalachian  Valley  Belt.  The  valley  of 
the  Coosa,  or  "Coosa  Valley,"  as  the  Greater  Appalachian  Valley  sections 

'  In  Tennessee,  Sequatchie  Valley  is  regarded  as  a  valley  in  the  Cumberland 
Plateau.  In  Alabama,  Browns  Valley,  its  continuation,  is  regarded  as  an  outlier 
of  the  Coosa,  as  the  main  part  of  the  Greater  Appalachian  \alley  is  here  called. 
This  seeming  inconsistency  may  be  explained  by  the  statement  made  later  in  our 
Tennessee  section  that  the  Sequatchie  Valley  is  in  reality  an  outlier  of  the  East 
Tennessee  Valley,  as  the  Greater  Appalachian  Valley  is  there  called,  and  would  be 
so  viewed  did  not  Waldens  Ridge  show  so  many  of  the  characteristics  of  the  Plateau 
section  lying  to  the  west  of  the  Sequatchie. 

335 


THE  SOUTHERN  HIGHLANDER 

of  Georgia  and  Alabama  are  wont  to  be  called,  has  in  Alabama  its  main 
valley  in  the  counties  of  Cherokee,  Calhoun,  Etowah,  St.  Clair,  Talladega, 
and  Shelby,  and  extends  into  Chilton  which  lies  in  the  country  of  our  in- 
definite southwestern  border.  It  is  closely  furrowed  with  many  north- 
easterly and  southwesterly  parallel  ridges.  Its  outliers  are  the  Cohaba 
Valley  in  the  counties  of  St.  Clair,  Jefferson,  Shelby,  and  Bibb,  which  is 
also  in  the  vague  southwestern  border;  Roups  Valley  in  Jefferson,  and  in 
Tuscaloosa  and  Bibb,  of  our  undefined  zone;  Wills  Valley  in  DeKalb, 
Etowah,  and  St.  Clair  Counties;  Murphree  in  Etowah  and  Blount;  and 
Blount  Springs  or  Browns  Valley  in  Blount,  Marshall,  and  Jackson 
Counties. 

The  Allegheny-Cumberland  Belt  of  Alabama  includes  Sand  Mountain^ 
and  its  spurs  in  Jackson,  Marshall,  Etowah,  Morgan,  St.  Clair,  and  Blount 
Counties,  Lookout  Mountain  in  DeKalb,  Cherokee,  and  Etowah,  and  the 
detached  spurs  of  the  Plateau  northwest  of  the  Tennessee,  in  Jackson, 
Madison,  and  Marshall  Counties.  To  these  should  be  added  half  the  area 
of  Cullman  County,  which  partakes  of  the  characteristics  of  both  the 
tableland  and  the  Warrior  Basin. 

A  considerable  part  of  the  area  northwest  of  the  Tennessee  River  is  not 
strictly  tableland.  There  are,  especially  in  the  northeastern  part  of  this 
division,  deep,  narrow  coves  and  valleys  with  low-lying  areas  between  the 
spurs.  Some  of  these  spurs  partake  of  true  mountain  proportions.  With 
the  exception  of  this  area  northwest  of  the  Tennessee  River  and  one  or  two 
localities  on  Lookout  Mountain,  the  edge  of  the  tableland  has  been  cut 
but  little  by  streams. 

The  western  part  of  this  subdivision  merges  into  the  so-called  Barrens, 
which  extend  from  northeast  of  Huntsville,  Madison  County,  as  far  south 
as  Athens  and  west  to  the  Mississippi  line. 

The  Talladega  Mountain  range,  as  previously  indicated,  is  the  southern- 
most member  of  the  Appalachian  Mountains,  though  separated  by  an 
interval  of  a  hundred  miles  from  the  main  body  which  terminates  in 
Georgia.  It  is  a  narrow  range  with  a  central  ridge  bordered  by  low  hills. 
The  three  Blue  Ridge  counties.  Clay,  Cleburne,  and  Coosa,  might  perhaps 
better  be  called  border  counties,  in  which  the  Piedmont  Plateau  and  the 
terminus  of  the  Appalachian  Mountains  merge. ^ 

'  In  Lawrence  and  Franklin  Counties  is  an  elevated  rim  overlooking  the  Ten- 
nessee River.  Locally  this  rim  is  known  as  Sand  Mountain.  It  is  the  border  of  the 
Warrior  Coal  Field,  and  may  better  be  considered  with  it.  The  main  body  of  the 
tableland,  known  as  Sand  Mountain,  with  its  spur,  gradually  sinks  into  the  Warrior 
Basin  beyond  the  southwestern  line  of  Blount  County. 

2  The  belts  of  the  Appalachian  Province  differ  not  only  in  surface  features  but 
in  structural  features  as  well.    The  Blue  Ridge  Belt  is  largely  a  region  of  meta- 

336 


REGIONAL  DESCRIPTIONS  OF  STATE  MOUNTAIN  AREAS 

Except  for  the  northwestern  portion  of  the  Allegheny-Cumberland  Belt, 
which  is  drained  by  the  Tennessee  and  its  tributaries,  the  drainage  is  to 
the  Gulf  through  the  Coosa  and  Warrior  Rivers. 

While  more  territory  might  be  included  with  the  mountainous  area  of 
Alabama — especially  the  rough  country  of  the  bordering  Warrior  Basin 
and  the  southwest  counties  into  which  parts  of  the  Coosa  Valley  project — 
it  has  seemed  best  to  limit  our  territory  as  indicated. 

GEORGIA 

The  mountain  region  of  Georgia  lies  northwest  of  a  line  drawn  from  the 
Georgia-South  Carolina  boundary,  through  Toccoa  in  Stephens  County 
and  Cedartown  in  Polk  County,  to  the  Georgia-Alabama  border.  The 
section  thus  defined  is  subdivided  into  the  so-called  "ten  counties  of  North- 
west Georgia"  and  the  fifteen  Blue  Ridge  or  northeast  counties.  With  the 
exception  of  one  county,  Dade,  which  we  list  in  the  Allegheny-Cumber- 
land Belt,  the  counties  of  northwest  Georgia  lie  within  the  Greater  Appa- 
lachian Valley. 

The  Allegheny-Cumberland  Plateau  section,  or  Dade  County,  lies  in  the 
extreme  northwestern  corner  of  the  state,  and  consists  of  a  part  of  Sand 
Mountain,  as  the  severed  remnant  of  Waldens  Ridge  is  known,  a  part  of 
Lookout  Mountain,  and  its  spur  Pigeon  Mountain.  Lookout  Mountain, 
which  enters  the  state  from  Alabama  and  terminates  abruptly  at  Chatta- 
nooga, may  be  viewed  as  dividing  the  Greater  Appalachian  Valley  into 
two  parts,  the  smaller  division  of  which  lies  between  Sand  Mountain  and 
Lookout  and  extends  well  into  Alabama.  The  average  elevation  of  this 
flat-topped  group  of  the  .Allegheny-Cumberland  Plateau  Belt  is  about 
1, 800  feet  above  sea-level,  with  points  reaching  2,300  feet.  Their  slopes 
are  precipitous  with  bold  sandstone  cliffs  attaining  in  places  a  height  of  200 
feet.     Sand  Mountain  is  broader  and  more  level  than  the  others. 

The  eastern  escarpment  of  Lookout  and  its  spur,  Pigeon  Mountain, 
form  the  western  boundary  of  the  Greater  Appalachian  Valley  section  of 
the  state.  The  eastern  boundary  of  this  belt  is  the  southwestern  escarp- 
ment of  the  great  mountainous  plateau  made  by  the  division  of  the  Blue 
Ridge  in  lower  Virginia.  The  fronts  of  this  plateau,  the  Unakas  on  the 
northwest  and  the  Blue  Ridge  on  the  southeast,  terminate  in  Georgia,  and 

morphic  rocks.  The  metamorphic  region  of  Alabama  lies  within  an  irregular 
triangle,  the  base  of  which  is  that  part  of  the  Georgia-Alabama  line  between  the 
njrthern  boundary  of  Cleburne  and  the  southern  boundary  of  Lee  County.  The 
approximate  apex  of  this  triangle  is  the  northeastern  corner  of  Chilton  County. 
Practically  all  of  this  area,  except  the  northwestern  border,  lies  in  the  Piedmont 
Plateau.  This  northwestern  border  is  roughly  traced  by  the  Talladega  Mountains, 
which  separate  this  region  from  the  Coosa  Valley. 

337 


THE  SOUTHERN  HIGHLANDER 

the  escarpment  referred  to  as  bounding  the  Greater  Appalachian  Valley 
section  on  the  east  may  be  considered  somewhat  as  the  final  cross-range 
which  connects  the  termini  of  the  fronts. 

in  the  northern  part  of  this  bordering  escarpment  the  altitude  is  much 
higher  than  in  the  south.  This  is  especially  true  in  the  Cohutta  Moun- 
tains. Coves  and  ravines  cut  up  this  section  so  that  mountains  are  en- 
countered in  all  parts  for  a  distance  of  ten  or  fifteen  miles  between  the 
base  and  summit  of  the  escarpment.  Farther  south  the  rim  of  this  border 
is  from  500  to  600  feet  above  the  average  elevation  of  the  Greater  Appa- 
lachian Valley  Belt  to  the  northwest,  but  is  approximately  of  the  same 
general  level  as  the  country  to  the  south. 

The  part  of  the  Greater  Appalachian  Valley  lying  between  the  Lookout- 
Pigeon  Mountain  front  on  the  west  and  the  Blue  Ridge-Unaka  Plateau 
escarpment  on  the  east,  is  composed  of  minor  valleys  separated  by  sharp 
or  well-rounded  ridges.  In  the  northwestern  part  of  this  area  the  streams 
flow  northward  into  the  Tennessee.  Elsewhere  they  take  a  more  direct 
route  southward  into  the  Gulf  of  Mexico. 1 

The  Blue  Ridge  counties  form  an  irregular  triangle  with  the  escarpment 
facing  the  Greater  Appalachian  Valley  as  its  base.  The  northern  boun- 
dary of  the  state  forms  one  side,  and  Chattahoochee  Ridge — the  continua- 
tion of  the  Chattooga  Ridge  of  South  Carolina,  which  is  the  southeast 
extension  of  the  Blue  Ridge  not  bearing  the  main  divide — the  third  side 
of  this  triangle  and  the  natural  southeastern  boundary  of  the  mountain 
section  of  the  state.  The  Blue  Ridge  bearing  the  main  divide,  which  turns 
to  the  northward  at  the  North  Carolina-South  Carolina  line,  enters  Georgia 
from  North  Carolina  between  Rabun  and  Towns  Counties,  continues 
southward,  and  in  Habersham  County  resumes  its  general  southwesterly 
course  southeast  of  the  Chattahoochee  River.  The  main  ridge  sends  off  a 
,  number  of  spurs  known  by  various  names. 

The  general  elevation  of  this  region  is  from  1,600  to  1,800  feet  above  sea- 
level,  with  mountains  ranging  from  2,000  to  3,000  feet  above  the  general 
elevation.  The  sides  of  the  mountains  are  often  so  steep  as  to  be  almost 
inaccessible.  There  is  within  this  mountain  section  a  considerable  area  of 
broken  country  resembling  the  more  hilly  parts  of  the  Piedmont  Plateau. 

The  mountain  section  of  northeast  Georgia  is  the  terminus  of  the  moun- 
tainous region  of  the  Blue  Ridge  Belt  (except  the  limited  area  within  the 
Talladega  Mountains  of  Alabama).  The  highest  elevation  of  the  state, 
5,046  feet,  is  reached  in  Sitting  Bull,  the  middle  peak  of  the  Nantahala 
cross-range  in  Towns  County. 

^  In  the  extreme  eastern  part  of  the  Blue  Ridge  Belt  the  drainage  is  to  the 
Atlantic  through  the  headwaters  of  the  Savannah  River. 


REGIONAL  DESCRIPTIONS  OF  STATE  MOUNTAIN  AREAS 

Nacoochee  Valley  in  White  County,  and  the  Little  Tennessee  Valley  in 
Rabun  County,  are  among  the  larger  of  the  intermontane  valleys.  Most 
of  the  valleys  are  narrow,  with  rapid  streams  and  with  falls  many  feet  in 
height. 

KENTUCKY 

The  "mountain  country"  of  eastern  Kentucky,  in  its  usual  acceptation, 
is  the  name  given  to  the  region  lying  east  of  a  line  drawn  from  Portsmouth 
on  the  Ohio  River  to  the  junction  of  Clinton  and  Cumberland  Counties, 
which  lie  on  the  Tennessee  border;  or,  on  a  county  basis,  those  thirty- 
seven  counties  which  lie  east  of  a  line  drawn  from  the  point  where  the 
western  line  of  Lewis  County  touches  the  Ohio  to  where  the  western  line 
of  Clinton  touches  the  Tennessee  line.  The  true  mountain  country  of 
eastern  Kentucky,  however,  occupies  but  a  comparatively  small  area  in 
the  southeastern  portion  of  the  state,  and  includes  the  Pine,  Black,  and 
Cumberland  Mountains,  with  the  intervening  valleys. 

Our  field  is  the  larger  territory  which  lies  east  of  the  boundary  above 
mentioned.  This  entire  field  is  within  the  Allegheny-Cumberland  Belt. 
The  general  character  of  this  region  is  that  of  a  deeply  dissected  plateau, 
which  is  highest  on  its  southwestern  side.  Here  the  Cumberland  Moun- 
tains, on  the  state  line  between  Virginia  and  Kentucky,  rise  in  the  crest  of 
Big  Black  Mountain  to  a  height  of  4,100  feet  and  form  the  watershed  be- 
tween the  Cumberland  and  Tennessee  Rivers. 

The  western  side  of  the  Plateau  is  bordered  by  an  irregular  line  of  low 
hills  and  knobs  known  as  the  "Knob  Region,"  in  which  terminates  the 
Eastern,  or  Appalachian,  Coal  Field  of  Kentucky,  with  which  our  territory 
is  almost  identical.  The  general  surface  elevation  along  the  western 
margin  of  this  Eastern  Coal  Field  is  about  1,000  feet.'  The  eastern  boun- 
dary of  our  territory  is  formed  by  the  Big  Sandy  River,  and  the  northern 
boundary  by  the  Ohio. 

In  describing  this  region  we  avail  ourselves  of  the  classification  of  coun- 
ties into  districts  as  made  by  the  Forest  Service  of  the  United  States  Gov- 
ernment and  of  the  state  of  Kentucky.  These  districts  are  the  drainage 
basins  of  the  Big  Sandy,  the  Cumberland,  the  Upper  Kentucky,  and  Upper 
Licking  Rivers,  all  of  which  drain  into  the  Ohio.     Small  areas  of  some  of 

1  At  Rockcastle  County  a  division  is  effected  in  the  escarpment,  part  sweeping 
around  toward  Louisville  as  Muldraughs  Hill,  and  part  continuing  to  the  southwest. 
The  region  lying  south  of  Muldraughs  Hill,  east  of  the  Western  Coal  Field  and  west 
of  the  southwesterly  continuance  of  the  escarpment  above  mentioned,  is  closely 
allied  with  the  mountain  section  of  eastern  Kentucky,  which,  however,  is  more 
noted  on  account  of  a  certain  picturesqueness  that  attaches  both  to  people  and 
scenery. 

339 


THE  SOUTHERN  HIGHLANDER 

these  districts  lie  without  the  drainage  basins  in  which  they  are  classed, 
but  we  follow  the  convenient  arrangement  above  given. 

The  Cumberland  District  includes  the  southern  and  southwestern  coun- 
ties. The  Cumberland  River  has  its  main  sources  in  Harlan  County, 
flowing  hence  in  a  generally  southwesterly  direction  through  narrow, 
deeply  cut  valleys  with  ridges  often  more  than  i,ooo  feet  above  its  waters. 
At  Pineville,  for  the  first  time  in  over  loo  miles,  it  breaks  through  the  Pine 
Mountain  barrier,  which  continues  to  the  southwest  and  passes  from 
Whitley  County  into  Tennessee.  Toward  the  western  part  of  this  district 
the  country  as  a  whole  becomes  more  open  and  rolling,  especially  in  the 
north,  with  gentler  slopes  and  broader  ridges,  broken  in  places  by  valleys 
sometimes  reaching  a  depth  of  550  feet. 

The  northern  and  northeastern  counties  fall  within  the  Big  Sandy  Dis- 
trict. Letcher  County  marks  the  divide  between  the  Cumberland  and 
Big  Sandy  Rivers.  North  of  this  divide  the  general  surface  slopes  gently 
toward  the  Ohio.  Gradually  the  narrow  bottoms  and  precipitous  hill 
slopes  that  are  characteristic  of  the  southern  portions  of  this  district  give 
way  to  a  country  somewhat  less  rough,  and  from  an  altitude  of  2,000  to 
3,000  feet  above  sea-level  we  descend  to  an  elevation  of  1,000  feet  or  less. 

HIGHLAND   COUNTIES    IN    KENTUCKY,    CLASSIFIED    BY    DRAINAGE    BASINS* 


Cumberland  District 
(south  and  south- 

Big Sandy 
(north  and  north- 

Upper Kentucky 

Upper  Licking 
(northwest) 

west) 

east) 

(central  and  west) 

Bell 

Boyd 

Breathitt 

Lewis 

Harlan 

Carter 

Clay 

Magoffin 

Jackson 

Elliott 

Estill 

Menifee 

Knox 

Floyd 

Lee 

Morgan 

Laurel 

Greenup 

Leslie 

Rowan 

Pulaski 

Johnson 

Owsley 

Rockcastle 

Knott 

Perry 

Wayne 

Lawrence 

Powell 

Whitley 

Letcher 

Martin 

Pike 

Wolfe 

a  Clinton  and   Madison  Counties  are  also  Highland  counties,  but  do  not  lie 
within  the  drainage  basins  above  mentioned. 


The  counties  of  the  Upper  Kentucky  District  are  those  of  the  central 
and  western  part.  This  whole  country  is  very  rough.  The  hills  are  steep, 
the  valleys  narrow,  and  there  is  comparatively  little  bottom  land.  The 
land  slopes  to  the  northwest,  growing  gradually  somewhat  less  rugged. 

340 


REGIONAL  DESCRIPTIONS  OF  STATE  MOUNTAIN  AREAS 

Near  Bcattyville  the  three  forks  of  the  Kentucky  River  unite  with  the 
Red  River  to  form  the  main  Kentucky. 

The  Upper  Licking  District  includes  the  northwestern  counties.  On  the 
whole  this  district  is  somewhat  less  rugged  than  that  of  the  Upper  Ken- 
tucky. The  ridge  crests  rise  only  from  i  ,000  to  i , 500  feet  above  sea-level, 
and  there  is  more  bottom  land.  The  general  surface  features,  however, 
resemble  those  of  the  other  counties. 

MARYLAND 

Maryland,  with  only  four  counties  in  its  mountain  region,  covering  in 
all  an  area  of  2,250  square  miles,  has  the  smallest  Highland  area  of  any  of 
the  nine  Southern  states  within  which  our  territory  is  included.  It  em- 
braces all  three  belts  of  the  Appalachian  Province. 

The  easternmost,  or  Blue  Ridge  Belt,  is  narrow.  The  main  ridge  fol- 
lows for  most  of  its  course  the  boundary  line  between  Frederick  and  Wash- 
ington Counties,  reaching  its  highest  altitude,  2,145  feet  inQuirauk  Moun- 
tain, in  the  northeastern  part  of  the  latter  county.  By  some,  however, 
the  Catoctins,  the  most  easterly  range  in  Frederick  County  and  separated 
from  South  Mountain,  as  the  main  range  is  here  known,  by  the  fertile 
Middletown  Valley,  are  considered  to  mark  the  topographic  boundary 
.  between  the  Piedmont  and  Appalachian  Provinces. ^  The  larger  part  of 
Frederick  County,  though  necessarily  listed  on  the  basis  of  the  county  unit 
as  a  Blue  Ridge  County,  lies  largely  without  our  territory. 

The  Allegheny  Front,  or  Dan's  Mountain  as  it  is  known  in  this  state, 
crosses  Allegany  County  just  to  the  west  of  Cumberland.  The  extreme 
western  part  of  this  county,  and  the  whole  of  Garrett  County,  thus  fall 
within  the  Allegheny-Cumberland  Belt,  which  constitutes  almost  exactly 
half  of  the  entire  mountain  area  of  Maryland.  This  region  contains  the 
highest  land  in  the  state  and  is  traversed  by  four  prominent  ridges.  One 
of  these.  Backbone  Mountain  in  the  southwestern  end  of  Garrett  County, 
reaches  an  elevation  of  3,400  feet,  and  with  its  continuation.  Big  Savage, 
an  average  of  almost  3,000  feet.  It  forms  for  about  half  of  its  length  the 
divide  between  the  drainage  of  the  Potomac  and  Youghiogheny  systems, 
or  between  waters  flowing  to  the  Atlantic  and  to  the  Ohio. 

The  Greater  Appalachian  Valley  occupies  the  narrowest  portion  of  the 
state.  In  its  eastern  or  distinctively  valley  portion  it  is  known  as  the 
Cumberland  or  Hagerstown  Valley.  Its  western  or  Valley  Ridge  section, 
lying  in  the  western  half  of  Washington  and  eastern  half  of  Allegany 
County,  is  divided  by  Tonoloway  Mountain  into  two  varieties  of  mountain 
topography.  To  the  west  of  Tonoloway  Mountain  the  countr\-  is  very 
'  Maryland  Geological  Survey  so  holds. 


THE  SOUTHERN  HIGHLANDER 

rugged,  cut  by  long  narrow  valleys  and  by  ridges  which  rise  in  places  to  an 
elevation  of  over  1,900  feet.  East  of  Tonoloway,  while  extremely  dis- 
sected, it  manifests  more  of  plateau  and  less  of  mountain  character. 

NORTH  CAROLINA 

North  Carolina,  with  its  10,101  square  miles  of  upland  in  the  moun- 
tainous part  of  the  Blue  Ridge  Belt,  is  worthy  of  extended  notice.  This 
mountain  area  is  bounded  by  the  Blue  Ridge  on  the  southeast,  which 
traverses  the  state  in  a  southwesterly  direction,  and  on  the  northwest  by 
the  mountains  known  collectively  as  the  Unaka  Range.  This  region  is, 
in  fact,  a  mountainous  plateau  with  the  Blue  Ridge  and  Unakas  as  its 
fronts  between  which  extend  massive  cross-ranges. 

The  Blue  Ridge,  viewed  from  the  east,  presents  the  appearance  of  a  ram- 
part overlooking  the  Piedmont  Plateau.  Though  some  of  the  counties 
near  this  border  are  made  very  rugged  by  monadnocks,  and  by  the  Pied- 
mont valleys  which  separate  them  from  the  Blue  Ridge  proper,  we  include 
only  those  lying  to  the  west  within  the  main  front  of  the  Blue  Ridge  or 
crossed  by  it. 

Viewed  from  the  west  the  Blue  Ridge  seems  often  a  low,  ill-defined  ridge, 
its  horizon  line  almost  unbroken,  but  in  places  it  lifts  itself  into  bold 
prominence.  It  has  a  number  of  peaks  over  4,000  feet  and  a  few  over 
5,000.  In  Grandfather  Mountain,  its  highest  point,  it  attains  an  altitude 
of  5,964  feet,  descending  gradually  to  2,700  at  the  Virginia  line  and  to 
2,200  near  the  border  of  South  Carolina. 

The  Blue  Ridge  is  very  ancient,  and  has  from  early  times  formed  the 
divide  between  waters  to  east  and  west.  Streams  rising  on  its  eastern 
slope  plunge  in  their  upper  courses  i,coo  feet  or  more  to  the  Piedmont 
Plateau  below.  Gradually  they  are  carving  their  way  back  through  the 
range,  pushing  the  divide  ever  westward  and  capturing  as  they  go  the  head- 
waters of  streams  which  once  flowed  to  the  Gulf.  Such  a  river  is  the  Lin- 
ville,  a  branch  of  the  Catawba,  which  has  cut  its  way  back  until  its  head- 
waters now  lie  to  the  west  of  Grandfather  Mountain.  The  Yadkin,  whose 
waters  likewise  reach  the  Atlantic,  rises  but  a  few  yards  distant  to  the  east. 
A  few  miles  west  are  the  sources  of  the  Watauga  and  Nolichucky,  which 
empty  into  the  Tennessee,  while  to  the  north  rises  the  New  or  Kanawha 
River  which  flows  north  to  Virginia  and  thence  to  the  Ohio.  Farther  south 
the  Saluda  and  Savannah  make  their  way  south  and  southeast  across  the 
Piedmont  Plateau,  and  the  French  Broad  flows  in  an  opposite  direction 
into  the  Tennessee. 

Those  rivers  which  rise  on  the  western  slope  of  the  Blue  Ridge  and  flow 
west  across  the  Blue  Ridge  Plateau  to  the  Tennessee,  have  during  the 

342 


REGIONAL  DESCRIPTIONS  OF  STATE  MOUNTAIN  AREAS 

course  of  ages  cut  their  channels  into  deep  can>ons  through  the  high  L'naka 
Mountains  which  lie  athwart  their  courses  and  have  divided  this  range 
into  a  number  of  segments.  The  term  Unaka  Mountains  is  a  source  of 
confusion  unless  it  is  remembered  that  it  is  used  to  designate  the  range 
collectively  as  well  as  two  of  its  segments.  South  of  the  Pigeon  River 
most  of  the  summits  of  the  Unakas  are  above  5,000  feet,  while  north  of 
this  river  few  are  above  5,000  feet  but  many  above  4,000  feet  in  height. 

Among  the  prominent  cross-ranges  which  extend  between  the  Blue  Ridge 
and  the  Unakas,  the  Black  Mountains,  although  a  single  range  but  fifteen 
miles  long,  have  a  dozen  peaks  above  6,000  feet  in  elevation.  In  Mount 
Mitchell,  6,711  feet  above  sea-level,  it  reaches  the  highest  point  east  of 
the  Mississippi.  The  Pisgah  range,  interrupted  by  a  depression  of  a 
few  miles  and  continued  as  the  New  Found  Mountains,  extends  to  the 
Tennessee  line  and  attains  in  Mount  Pisgah  a  height  of  5,750  feet.  The 
Balsams,  extending  in  unbroken  continuity,  save  for  two  high  narrow 
gaps,  cross  the  state  from  the  South  Carolina  line  to  the  Great  Smokies. 
This  range  has  a  mean  average  elevation  of  5,500  feet  and  fifteen  summits 
exceeding  6,000  feet.  They  are  succeeded  by  the  Nantahala  and  Valley 
River  Mountains,  which  lie  closely  parallel  for  a  distance  on  the  Georgia 
line,  then  separate.  One  branches  westward  and  unites  with  the  Unakas 
in  Cherokee  County,  and  is  known  as  the  Long  Ridge.  The  other,  under 
the  name  of  Cheowah,  turns  to  the  northeast  and  ends  in  isolated  peaks 
and  ridges. 

These  dominant  cross-ranges,  which  have  had  as  their  fronts  the  Unakas 
and  the  Blue  Ridge  which  border  the  plateau,  serve  in  turn  as  fronts  for 
minor  cross-ranges,  extending  between  and  sometimes  connecting  them. 

In  all  this  mountain  section  there  are  over  forty  peaks  of  6,000  feet  and 
upwards,  over  eighty  which  exceed  5,000  and  approximate  6,000  feet,  and 
many  more  above  4,000  feet  which  approach  5,000  feet  in  elevation. 
Several  of  these  in  the  Great  Smoky  Mountains  are  close  rivals  of  Mount 
Mitchell. 

Among  the  more  noted  valleys  are  the  French  Broad  and  the  Mills 
River  Valleys  of  Henderson  and  Transylvania  Counties,  the  Swannanoa 
in  Buncombe,  the  Pigeon  River,  the  Richland  and  Johnathan's  Creek 
flatlandsof  Haywood  County,  and  those  of  the  Valley  River  and  Hiwassee 
in  Cherokee  County.  The  Valley  of  the  upper  Linville,  Mitchell  County, 
should  also  be  mentioned. 

SOUTH  CAROLINA 
The  mountain  area  of  South  Carolina  is  small,  being  onl>'  450  square 
miles  larger  than  that  of  Maryland,  the  smallest  of  all  the  mountain  areas 

343 


THE  SOUTHERN  HIGHLANDER 

of  the  Southern  states.^  It  is  included  roughly  within  the  northern  halves 
of  Oconee  and  Pickens  Counties,  the  northern  third  of  Greenville  County, 
and  the  northwestern  corner  of  Spartanburg  County. 

The  boundary  line  between  North  and  South  Carolina  is  formed  in  part 
by  the  Blue  Ridge  and  its  spur  the  Saludas.^  The  main  divide  of  the  Blue 
Ridge,  which  maintains  a  general  southwesterly  direction  throughout 
North  Carolina,  turns  to  the  north  at  the  South  Carolina  line;  and  the 
Blue  Ridge,  not  bearing  the  main  divide  and  known  as  the  Chattooga 
Ridge,  crosses  the  northwestern  corner  of  the  state  in  Oconee  County. 
All  of  these  mountains  rise  abruptly  from  the  Piedmont  Plateau  and  reach 
a  considerable  elevation.  Mount  Pinnacle  in  Pickens  County  is  the 
highest  elevation  in  the  state,  being  3,436  feet  above  sea-level.  The 
whole  region  drains  southeast  into  the  Atlantic  through  the  Santee  and 
Savannah  River  systems. 

TENNESSEE 

The  Tennessee  mountain  section  is  of  especial  interest,  as  the  three  belts 
of  the  Appalachian  Province  are  very  well  marked  therein.  Each  belt 
embraces  a  comparatively  large  area,  having  both  the  major  and  minor 
features  of  the  respective  divisions. 

The  Greater  Appalachian  Valley  Belt  in  this  state  has  the  true  valley 
character  especially  prominent  and  extensive,  but  decreases  in  width  from 
north  to  south.  Some  of  its  minor  valleys  are  very  long,  several  with  a 
width  of  a  mile  extending  for  a  distance  of  1 50  miles,  or  the  entire  distance 
from  Virginia  to  Alabama.     There  are  numerous  other  minor  valleys. 

The  ridges  of  the  Greater  Appalachian  Valley  are  of  various  kinds. 
Clinch  Mountain,  Bay  Mountain,  and  White  Oak  Mountain,  on  the 
western  side,  are  examples  of  the  narrow  ridges  of  great  length  parallel  to 
the  side  of  the  valley.  Their  crests  are  almost  perfectly  horizontal, 
forming  an  even  sky  line  like  the  neighboring  plateau  escarpment,  which 

1  The  Piedmont  Plateau  region  of  South  Carolina  has  a  number  of  mountain 
masses  separated  from  the  main  range  by  Piedmont  valleys.  Though  this  Piedmont 
area,  like  the  mountain  region  of  South  Carolina,  is  comparatively  limited,  the 
development  of  its  water  power  has  led  to  a  marvelous  industrial  growth  which 
must  be  reckoned  with  as  an  influence  affecting  the  nearby  "Alpine  Region"  of 
South  Carolina  and  the  mountain  regions  of  adjacent  states. 

2  The  Saludas  should  be  included  properly  in  the  group  of  disconnected  mountain 
masses  mentioned  in  the  note  above,  but  being  less  completely  isolated  are  referred 
to  as  a  spur  of  the  Blue  Ridge. 

King's  Mountain  Range,  an  extension  in  York  and  Cherokee  Counties  of  the 
range  of  the  same  name  from  North  Carolina,  is  a  subordinate  range  and  one  of 
the  mountain  groups  of  the  Piedmont  Plateau.  Though  perhaps  subordinate  as  a 
physical  feature  of  the  state,  this  range  is  of  the  greatest  historical  interest  to  the 
country  as  a  whole. 

344 


REGIONAL  DESCRIPTIONS  OF  STATE  MOUNTAIN  AREAS 

they  also  resemble  in  height.  On  the  southeastern  side  of  this  Valley  Belt 
along  the  base  of  the  massive  Unakas,  is  another  type  of  ridge,  represented 
in  the  Chilhowce  Range  which  includes  the  Holston,  iron,  English,  Chil- 
howfee,  Starr,  and  Beans  Mountains.  These  are  of  greater  height  than  the 
Clinch,  Bay,  and  White  Oak  type,  are  less  regular  in  crest,  and  under  the 
name  "Chilhowee  Range"  are  referred  to  at  times  as  a  subordinate  range 
of  the  Unakas.  The  ridges  that  make  up  the  minor  irregularities  of  the 
valley  surface  constitute  the  third  group. 

The  Allegheny-Cumberland  Tableland,  whose  eastern  escarpment 
bounds  the  Greater  Appalachian  Valley  on  the  west,  is  strikingly  marked 
in  its  plateau  character.  Though  flat  over  much  of  its  surface,  it  has  high 
elevations  and  ridges  rising  as  mountains  on  the  tableland.  Some  of  these 
reach  a  height  of  3,100  feet  above  the  sea.  Again,  its  surface  presents  the 
appearance  of  a  gently  rolling  country  with  hills  and  shallow  valleys.  Its 
margin  is  higher  than  the  general  interior  surface.  The  eastern  front 
facing  the  valley  is  a  curving  line  little  broken,  its  western  front  toward 
the  Interior  Lowlands  is  very  irregular.  Here  its  streams  flowing  to  the 
west  have  cut  their  channels  backward,  forming  deep  coves  between  the 
remnants  of  the  plateau.  Often  these  finger-like  spurs  are  cut  entirely 
from  the  main  plateau  mass  and  left  as  isolated  flat-topped  hills  or  mesas. 

Among  the  most  interesting  and  peculiar  topographical  features  of  the 
plateau  are  the  coves  of  the  Crab  Orchard  Mountains.  The  largest  of 
these  is  Grassy  Cove,  containing  an  area  of  eight  square  miles  lying  far 
below  the  level  of  the  range  from  which  it  was  eroded.  Its  stream  flows 
to  the  northeast,  disappears  in  a  cave,  and  doubling  in  its  underground 
course  reappears  in  the  head  of  Sequatchie  Valley,  eight  miles  to  the 
southeast.  There  are  other  such  coves,  but  smaller,  and  the  process  of 
cove  making  is  still  going  on  in  the  Crab  Orchard  Mountains. 

Sequatchie  Valley  is  a  trough-like  valley  about  four  miles  wide  and  sixty 
miles  long  cut  lengthwise  out  of  the  plateau.  It  heads  about  midway  be- 
tween the  northern  and  southern  boundaries  of  the  state  and  opens  to  the 
south  in  Alabama.  Walls  of  stone  a  thousand  feet  high  enclose  it.  Its 
eastern  wall,  which  lies  between  it  and  the  Greater  Appalachian  Valley 
region,  is  known  as  Walden's  Ridge.  Were  it  not  for  the  fact  that  this 
ridge  partakes  of  the  character  of  the  main  plateau  west  of  Sequatchie 
Valley,  this  Valley  might  be  regarded  as  a  part  of  the  Greater  Appalachian 
Valley. 

The  Blue  Ridge  Belt  of  Tennessee  is  represented  by  the  main  Unaka 
Range  and  its  subordinate  ranges.  This  range  extends  for  200  miles  along 
the  eastern  border  of  Tennessee,  and  its  axis  forms  the  line  between  Ten- 
nessee and  North  Carolina,  about  equal  areas  of  the  range  lying  in  each 
state.     A  fuller  description  of  the  mountain  plateau  of  which  the  Unakas 

345 


THE  SOUTHERN  HIGHLANDER 

form  the  western  boundary  will  be  found  under  the  Blue  Ridge  Belt 
(Ch.  11,  p.  13)  and  in  the  description  of  the  State  ^rea  of  North  Caro- 
lina (Appendix  A). 

Shut  in  within  the  various  ranges  and  mountains  of  this  belt  are  many 
coves  and  valleys.  In  Johnson  County,  the  extreme  northeast  county  of 
the  state  and  highest  in  altitude,  are  a  number  of  such  valleys  and  numer- 
ous coves.  From  some  of  the  valleys  of  this  county  many  coves  of  greater 
or  less  extent  penetrate  the  bordering  mountains  and  contain  hundreds 
of  acres  at  a  higher  level  than  the  valleys  into  which  the  coves  open. 

The  drainage  of  the  mountain  region  of  Tennessee  is  into  the  Ohio,  in 
the  northwestern  part  largely  through  the  Cumberland,  and  in  the  eastern 
and  central  parts  through  the  Tennessee  system.  The  Tennessee,  which 
is  the  trunk  stream  of  the  Greater  Appalachian  Valley  to  the  Georgia 
line,  not  only  receives  all  waters  of  the  Valley  and  nearby  ridges  south  of 
the  New  River  divide  in  southwestern  Virginia,  but  all  the  waters  to  the 
east  and  south  of  this  divide  which  have  their  rise  on  the  western  slope  of 
the  Blue  Ridge. 

VIRGINIA 
The  section  of  Virginia  included  within  our  territory  consists  of  the  three 
divisions  of  the  state  which  are  known  locally  as  the  Blue  Ridge  country, 
the  Valley  of  Virginia,  and  the  Appalachian  country. 

The  name  "Valley,"  as  used  locally,  applies  to  the  comparatively  ridge- 
less  strip  in  the  eastern  part  of  the  Greater  Appalachian  Valley,  and  ex- 
tends from  the  Blue  Ridge  on  the  southeast  to  the  frontal  ridges  of  the 
much  broken  Allegheny  Ridge  section  to  the  northwest. 

The  Valley,  though  continuous  in  outline  throughout  the  state,  is  made 
up  of  five  minor  valleys  named  from  their  rivers — the  Shenandoah  Valley, 
the  James  River  Valley,  the  Roanoke  River  Valley,  the  Kanawha  or  New 
River  Valley,  and  the  Valley  of  the  Holston  or  Tennessee.  The  part  of 
the  Valley  occupied  by  the  Shenandoah  is  little  diversified.  About  the 
headwaters  of  the  Shenandoah,  however,  and  the  headwaters  of  the 
James  and  Roanoke,  and  in  the  region  of  the  New  River  the  ridges  be- 
come extremely  numerous  and  much  broken.  Farther  to  the  south- 
ward they  gradually  become  fewer  in  number  and  of  less  importance. 

The  western  part  of  the  Greater  Appalachian  Valley  is  made  up  of  the 
Allegheny  ridges  and  their  intervening  valleys,  which  extend  from  the 
frontal  ridges  before  referred  to  as  facing  the  ridgeless  strip,  westward  to 
the  main  front  of  the  Allegheny  Mountains.  The  Greater  Appalachian 
Valley  is  thus  higher  on  its  western  than  on  its  eastern  side. 

The  natural  division  of  Virginia  called  "Appalachia"  lies  for  the  most 
part  within  the  western,  or  Allegheny-Cumberland  Plateau  Belt,  of  the 
Appalachian  Province.     This  section  is  crossed  from  northeast  to  south- 

346 


REGIONAL  DESCRIPTIONS  OF  STATE  MOUNTAIN  AREAS 

west  by  the  Alleghenics  with  their  spurs,  and  by  minor  and  dividing 
ridges.  Though  a  strictly  geological  division  might  necessitate  the  inclu- 
sion of  parts  of  some  of  these  counties  within  the  Greater  Appalachian 
Valley  Belt,  the  rugged  character  of  the  twelve  counties  as  a  whole,  which 
justifies  the  name  Appalachia,  warrants  our  placing  them  on  the  basis  of 
predominant  characteristics  among  the  Allegheny-Cumberland  Plateau 
counties.  This  region  contains  many  long,  narrow,  and  trough-like  val- 
leys within  its  confines,  and  ranges  in  elevation  from  1,000  to  3,000  feet 
and  more. 

The  Blue  Ridge  country,  which  receives  its  name  from  the  range  which 
gives  it  its  chief  characteristics,  is  a  varied  landscape  of  much  beauty. 
The  general  elevation  of  the  range  is  about  2,500  feet,  arising  from  1,400 
feet  at  the  Potomac  River  gorge  to  the  highest  point  in  the  state,  5,719 
feet,  in  Rogers  Mountain,  Grayson  County,  it  is  a  single  range  and  com- 
paratively narrow  as  a  whole,  but  expands  in  lower  Virginia,  forming  the 
Floyd-Carroll-Grayson  Plateau.  The  eastern  front  of  this  Plateau  con- 
tinues under  the  name  of  the  Blue  Ridge  as  the  eastern  and  southeastern 
boundary  of  the  mountainous  section  of  the  Blue  Ridge  Belt,  while  the 
western  front  is  continued  in  the  various  segments  of  the  Unakas,  whose 
crests  mark  the  Tennessee-North  Carolina  boundary.  Both  these  fronts, 
the  Blue  Ridge  and  the  Unakas,  increase  laterally  and  vertically  south- 
ward from  the  point  of  their  division. 

It  will  be  recalled  that  the  mountain  portion  of  Virginia  which  lies  north 
of  the  New  River  divide  is  technicall>-  a  part  of  the  northern  Appalachians. 
Its  northern  part  is  drained  by  the  Shenandoah,  which  flows  northward 
along  the  trough  of  the  Valley  to  join  the  Potomac  at  Harper's  Ferry. 
The  Potomac  itself,  however,  like  the  James  and  Roanoke  to  the  south- 
ward, rises  behind  the  Allegheny  Front  and  cuts  diagonally  across  ridges 
and  Valley  through  gaps  in  the  Blue  Ridge  to  the  Atlantic.  In  exactly 
the  opposite  direction  New  River,  rising  in  the  Blue  Ridge  of  North  Caro- 
lina, pursues  its  ancient  course  northwest  across  the  Valley  and  passes 
through  West  Virginia  to  the  Ohio.  The  region  south  of  the  New  River 
Divide  drains  southward  through  the  Holston  and  the  Clinch  into  the 
Tennessee. 

WEST  VIRGINIA 

West  Virginia  with  an  average  elevation  of  1,500  feet,  the  highest 
average  elevation  of  any  state  east  of  the  Mississippi,  may  be  considered 
in  its  entirety,  in  a  popular  sense  at  least,  as  a  mountain  state.  It  lies 
for  the  most  part  in  the  western  belt  of  the  Appalachian  Province.  The 
Allegheny  Front,  the  western  boundary  of  the  Greater  Appalachian  Val- 
ley, passes  through  Mineral,  Grant,  and  Pendleton  Counties.  If  we  hold 
strictly  to  the  Allegheny  Front  as  the  western  boundary  of  the  Greater  Ap- 
24  347 


THE  SOUTHERN  HIGHLANDER 

palachian  Valley,  the  eastern  part  of  the  three  counties  mentioned,  to- 
gether with  the  counties  to  the  east  of  them,  lie  in  the  Valley  Belt  of  the 
Appalachian  Province. ^ 

Of  these  five  Greater  Appalachian  Valley  counties,  the  most  easterly, 
Berkeley  and  Jefferson,  have  the  valley  features  especially  well  marked. 
The  more  westward  counties  of  this  belt  have  comparatively  narrow  val- 
leys and  have  the  ridge  features  more  prominent  as  they  approach  the 
Allegheny  Front. 

The  Allegheny-Cumberland  Plateau  Belt  in  West  Virginia  is  divided 
into  what  are  known  as  true  mountain  counties  and  hill  counties.  The 
true  mountain  counties^  lie  west  of  the  counties  of  the  Valley  Belt  and  east 
of  the  hill  county  group,  or,  in  general,  east  of  a  line  drawn  through  the 
middle  of  the  state  from  the  junction  of  Monongalia  and  Preston  Counties 
on  the  northern  state  line,  to  the  junction  of  McDowell  and  Mingo  Coun- 
ties on  the  southwestern  boundary  of  the  state. 

Within  the  limits  of  these  counties,  which  have  the  folded  and  deeply 
dissected  mountain  character,  the  ridges  run  from  northeast  to  southwest 
and  contain  many  upland  plateaus  and  meadows.  They  rise  from  a  base 
line  of  approximately  1,500  feet  to  the  highest  elevation  in  the  state  (and 
also  in  the  Alleghenies)  4,860  feet  in  Spruce  Knob,  Pendleton  County. 
The  county  of  highest  average  elevation  is  Pocahontas  County,  which  is 
approximately  3,000  feet  above  sea-level. 

Westward  from  the  line  which  marks  the  base  of  the  true  mountain 
counties  is  the  so-called  "Hill  Country,"  a  mountain  country  in  miniature 
when  seen  from  a  high  altitude.  In  the  northwestern  part  of  this  divi- 
sion, especially  along  the  tributaries  of  the  Kanawha  and  the  Ohio,  the 
hills  are  exceedingly  rough  and  rise  from  400  to  600  feet  above  the  streams. 
The  valley  bottoms  are  very  narrow  and  the  slopes  often  precipitous.  As 
they  approach  the  main  rivers  the  hills  grow  a  little  less  rugged,  and  de- 
scending a  few  hundred  feet,  extend  with  nearly  level  tops  to  the  brink  of 
the  river  gorges. 

The  state  as  a  whole  slopes  in  three  directions — to  the  east  where  the 
Potomac  River  leaves  the  state  at  Harper's  Ferry,  to  the  north  where  the 
Cheat  empties  into  the  Monongahela  at  the  Pennsylvania  line,  and  to  the 
southwest  where  the  Big  Sandy  joins  the  Ohio. 

1  Some  of  our  authorities  hold  that  Jefferson  and  Berkeley  Counties  alone  lie  in 
the  Great  Appalachian  Valley,  and  that  the  valleys  to  the  westward  as  far  as 
Monongalia  County  are  intermontane  valleys.  This  seeming  difference  of  opinion 
may  perhaps  arise  from  a  different  use  of  terms. 

2  At  times  reference  is  made  to  the  "thirty-five  mountain  counties  of  West  Vir- 
ginia." This  number  is  obtained,  apparently,  by  including  with  the  counties  east 
of  the  line  above  mentioned,  the  bordering  hill  counties  immediately  to  the  west, 
into  which  the  mountain  counties  merge. 

348 


APPENDIX  B 
A  MISAPPLIED  THEORY  OF  MOUNTAIN  ORIGIN 

FISKE'S  theory  of  the  origin  of  the  "poor  whites,"  "sand-hillers," 
and  "crackers"  of  the  South  has  been  so  widely  accepted  as  an  ex- 
planation of  the  origin  of  the  mountain  population  that  it  is  fair  to 
him  to  include  here  a  statement  of  what  he  actually  does  say. 

It  must  be  remembered  that  before  1719  the  strong  stocks  of  the  Ger- 
mans and  Scotch-Irish  had  not  yet  made  their  appearance  as  a  definite 
frontier  people,  and  the  backwoodsmen  were  recruited  more  from  the  less 
wealthy  classes  of  the  English  emigrants.  "In  its  early  days,"  says  Fiske, 
"North  Carolina  was  simply  a  portion  of  Virginia's  frontier;  and  to  this 
wild  frontier  the  shiftless  people  who  could  not  make  a  place  for  themselves 
in  Virginia  society,  including  many  of  the  'mean  whites,'  flocked  in  large 
numbers. "1 

For  the  state  of  society  he  accounts  as  follows: 

In  the  character  of  this  emigration  [by  which  North  Carolina  was  first 
peopled]  we  find  the  reasons  for  the  comparatively  democratic  state  of 
society.  As  there  were  so  few  large  plantations  and  wealthy  planters, 
while  nearly  all  the  white  people  were  small  land-owners,  and  as  the 
highest  class  was  thus  so  much  lower  in  dignity  than  the  corresponding 
class  in  Virginia,  it  became  just  as  much  the  easier  for  the  "mean 
whites"  to  rise  far  enough  to  become  a  part  of  it.  North  Carolina, 
therefore,  was  not  simply  an  Alsatia  for  debtors  and  criminals,  but  it 
afforded  a  home  for  the  better  portion  of  Virginia's  poor  people.  We  can 
thus  see  how  there  would  come  about  a  natural  segregation  of  Virginia's 
white  freedmen  into  four  classes:  i.  The  most  enterprising  and  thrifty 
would  succeed  in  maintaining  a  respectable  existence  in  Virginia;  2. 
A  much  larger  class,  less  thrifty  and  enterprising,  would  fmd  it  easier  to 
make  a  place  for  themselves  in  the  ruder  society  of  North  Carolina;  3. 
A  lower  stratum  would  consist  of  persons  without  enterprise  or  thrift 
who  remained  in  Virginia  to  recruit  the  ranks  of  "white  trash";  4.  The 
lowest  stratum  would  comprise  the  outlaws  who  fled  into  North  Carolina 
to  escape  the  hangman.  Of  the  third  class  the  eighteenth  century  seems 
to  have  witnessed  a  gradual  exodus  from  Virginia,  so  that  in  1773  it  was 
possible  for  the  traveller,  John  Ferdinand  Sm\th,  to  declare  that  there 
were  fewer  cases  of  poverty  in  proportion  to  the  population  than  any- 

•Fiske.  John:  Old  Virginiaand  herNeighbors,  Vol.  11,  p.  31 1.    Boston,  Houghton, 
Mifflin,  and  Co.,  1897. 

349 


THE  SOUTHERN  HIGHLANDER 

where  else  "in  the  universe."  The  statement  of  Bishop  Meade  in 
1837,  which  was  quoted  in  the  preceding  chapter,  shows  that  the  class 
of  "mean  whites"  had  not  even  then  become  extinct  in  Virginia;  but 
it  is  clear  that  the  slow  but  steady  exodus  had  been  such  as  greatly  to 
diminish  its  numbers  and  its  importance  as  a  social  feature.  Some  of 
these  freedmen  went  northward  into  Pennsylvania,  but  most  of  them 
sought  the  western  and  southern  frontiers,  and  at  first  the  southern 
frontier  was  a  far  more  eligible  retreat  than  the  western.  Of  this  out- 
ward movement  of  white  freedmen  the  governor  of  Virginia  wrote  in 
1717:  "The  Inhabitants  of  our  frontiers  are  composed  generally  of  such 
as  have  been  transported  hither  as  Servants,  and  being  out  of  their 
time,  .  .  .  settle  themselves  where  Land  is  to  be  taken  up  .  .  . 
that  will  produce  the  necessarys  of  Life  with  little  Labour.  It  is  pretty 
well  known  what  Morals  such  people  bring  with  them  hither,  which  are 
not  like  to  be  much  mended  by  their  Scituation,  remote  from  all  places 
of  worship."! 

As  society  in  North  Carolina  became  more  and  more  orderly  and 
civilized,  [after  the  entrance  of  the  Scotch-Irish  and  Germans,  1730]  the 
old  mean  white  element,  or  at  least  the  more  intractable  part  of  it,  was 
gradually  pushed  out  to  the  westward.  This  stream  that  had  started 
from  Old  Virginia  flowed  for  a  while  southwestward  into  the  South 
Carolina  back-country.  But  the  southerly  movement  was  gradually 
turned  more  and  more  to  the  westward. 

Always  clinging  to  the  half-savage  frontier,  these  poor  white  people 
made  their  way  from  North  Carolina  westward  through  Tennessee,  and 
their  descendants  may  still  be  found  here  and  there  in  Arkansas,  south- 
ern Missouri,  and  what  is  sometimes  known  as  the  Egyptian  extremity  of 
Illinois.^ 

Specimens  of  these  people,  he  maintains,  are  found  in  the  Appalachians 
today,  but  distinguished  more  for  shiftlessness  than  for  criminality. 

The  indisputable  facts,  in  short,  about  this  English  frontier  class  are 
these: 

There  is,  first,  the  importation  of  degraded  English  humanity  in  large 
numbers  to  the  two  oldest  colonies  in  which  there  is  a  demand  for  whole- 
sale cheap  labour;  secondly,  the  substitution  of  black  cheap  labour  for 
white;  thirdly,  the  tendency  of  the  degraded  white  humanity  to  seek 
the  frontier,  as  described  by  Spotswood,  or  else  to  lodge  in  sequestered 
nooks  outside  of  the  main  currents  of  progress.  These  data  are  suffi- 
cient in  general  to  explain  the  origin  and  distribution  of  the  "crackers," 
but  a  word  of  qualification  is  needed. 

Here  Fiske  carefully  guards  himself  against  any  sweeping  generaliza- 
tion in  regard  to  the  composition  of  the  mountain  population  by  adding: 

It  is  not  to  be  supposed  that  the  ancestors  of  all  the  persons  designated 
as  "crackers"  were  once  white  freedmen  in  Virginia  and  Maryland; 

1  Ibid.,  Vol.  II,  pp.  315-317.  ^  Ibid.,  Vol.  II,  pp.  319-320. 


A  MISAPPLIED  THEORY  OF  MOUNTAIN  ORIGIN 

it  is  more  probable  that  this  class  furnished  a  nucleus  about  which  vari- 
ous wrecks  of  decayed  and  broken-down  humanity  from  many  quarters 
were  gradually  gathered.  Nor  are  we  bound  to  suppose  that  every  com- 
munity of  ignorant,  semi-civilized  white  people  in  the  Southern  states  is 
descended  from  those  white  freedmen.  Prolonged  isolation  from  the 
currents  of  thought  and  feeling  that  sway  the  great  world  will  account 
for  almost  any  extent  of  ignorance  and  backwardness;  and  there  are 
few  geographical  situations  east  of  the  Mississippi  River  more  con- 
ducive to  isolation  than  the  southwestern  portion  of  the  great  Appa- 
lachian highlands.  All  these  circumstances  should  be  borne  in  mind  in 
dealing  with  what,  from  whatever  point  of  view,  is  one  of  the  most  in- 
teresting problems  of  American  history. ^ 

1  Ibid.,  Vol.  II,  p.  321. 


351 


APPENDIX  C 
BOONE'S  TRAIL 

THE  trail  of  Daniel  Boone  from  his  home  on  the  Yadkin  in  North 
Carolina,  through  Tennessee  and  Virginia  to  Kentucky  has,  by  the 
agency  of  the  Daughters  of  the  American  Revolution  in  these  four 
states,  been  marked  by  stone  tablets.  The  old  Wilderness  Road,  be- 
ginning at  Sycamore  Shoals,  Tennessee,  had  never  been  lost,  but  the  trail 
in  North  Carolina  had  been  forgotten  and  was  established  only  after  two 
years'  work  by  means  of  old  maps,  letters,  histories,  unpublished  manu- 
scripts, and  finally  by  traditions  in  the  Boone  family  and  the  memories  of 
old  settlers  in  the  region  adjacent.^  One  is  now  able,  therefore,  to  follow 
from  the  beginning  the  pioneer  path  which  for  many  years  was  traversed 
by  hundreds  on  their  way  to  the  great  West.  Railroads  and  thorough- 
fares have  made  parts  of  it  easily  accessible,  but  some  of  its  most  lofty 
and  beautiful  portions  still  present  many  obstacles  to  the  traveler. 
There  are  ten  tablets  in  North  Carolina,  situated  in  the  following  places: 

1.  Boone's  home  on  the  Yadkin  River,  near  Salisbury.    (Davie  County.) 

2.  Shallow  Ford,  where  Cornwallis  crossed  on  his  way  to  the  Battle  of 

Guilford  Court  House.     (Davie  County.) 

3.  Huntsville.     (Yadkin  County.) 

4.  Wilkesboro.     (Wilkes  County.) 

5.  Holman's   Ford,  where   Boone's  wife   Rebecca   Bryan  once  lived. 

(Wilkes  County.) 

6.  Elksville.     (Wilkes  County.) 

7.  Boone,  where  Boone's  hunting  cabin  once  stood.    (Watauga  County.) 

8.  Hodges  Gap.     (Watauga  County.) 

9.  Graveyard  Gap.     (Watauga  County.) 

10.  Zionville,  on  the  Tennessee  border.     (Watauga  County.) 

'We  are  indebted  for  this  information  to  Mrs.  Lindsay  Patterson  of  Winston- 
Salem,  North  Carolina,  whose  great-great-grandfather,  Elkanah  Bramlette,  a 
companion  of  Boone  on  his  trip  to  Kentucky,  was  murdered  at  Cumberland  Gap. 
Through  the  family  tradition,  Mrs.  Patterson  became  interested  in  the  trail,  and  it 
was  largely  due  to  her  efforts  that  the  North  Carolina  part  of  the  trail  was  located. 

352 


BOONE  S  TRAIL 

In  Tennessee  there  are  nine  markers: 

1.  Trade.     (Johnson  County.) 

2.  Shoun's,  nine  miles  north,  along  Roan  Creek.     (Johnson  County.) 

3.  Butler,  at  the  junction  of  Roan  Creek  and  the  Watauga.     (Johnson 

County.) 

4.  Elizabethton.     (Carter  County.) 

5.  Watauga.     (Carter  County.) 

6.  Austin's  Springs.     (Washington  County.) 

7.  Boone's  Tree.     (Washington  County.) 

8.  Old  Fort,  south  end  of  Long  Island.     (Sullivan  County.) 

9.  Kingsport.     (Sullivan  County.) 

From  Tennessee  the  trail,  coinciding  with  the  later  Wilderness  Road 
which  Boone  marked  out,  led  into  Virginia  through  Moccasin  Gap.  The 
nine  Virginia  markers  were  placed  as  follows: 

1.  Gate  City.     (Scott  County.) 

2.  Clinchport,  reached  from  Gate  City  across  Moccasin  Ridge  and  down 

Copper  Creek  to  the  Clinch.     (Scott  County.) 

3.  Natural  Tunnel.     (Scott  County.) 

4.  Duffield.     (Scott  County.) 

5.  Fort  Scott,  an  early  fort  where  Boone  is  known  to  have  spent  a  night. 

(Lee  County.) 

6.  Jonesville.     (Lee  county.) 

7.  Boone  Path  Post  Office,  above  Rose  Hill.     (Lee  County.) 

8.  A  spot  between  Ewing  and  Wheeler's  Station  in  Lee  County  where 

two  graves  were  found,  one  of  which  was  supposed  to  be  that  of 
Boone's  oldest  son. 

9.  Site  of  old  Fort  Blackmore.     (Scott  County.) 

Kentucky  boasts  fourteen  tablets: 

1.  Indian  Rock,  near  Cumberland  Gap,  used  by  pioneers  as  a  rude  fort 
and  signal  tower.     (Bell  County.) 

2.  Pineville,  on  the  ford  of  the  Cumberland  River.     (Bell  County.) 

3.  Flat  Lick.     (Knox  County.) 

4.  On  the  farm  of  C.  V.  Wilson,  near  Jarvis's  store,  where  the  old  trail 
crosses  the  new  road.     (Knox  County.) 

5.  Near  Tuttle,  on  the  Knox  and  Laurel  County  line,  on  the  farm  of 
Arthur  Hunfleet. 

6.  Fariston,  near  a  pioneer  burying  ground  known  as  the  "Place  of 
Defeated  Camps."     (Laurel  County.) 

353 


THE  SOUTHERN  HIGHLANDER 

7.  About  three  and  one-half  miles  from  East  Bernstadt,  where  was 

found  an  old  boulder  on  which  Boone  had  carved  his  name.    (Laurel 
County.) 

8.  Near  Livingston,  on  the  farm  of  Philip  Allen.     (Rockcastle  County.) 

9.  Boone's  Hollow,  near  Brush  Creek.     (Rockcastle  County.) 

10.  Roundstone  Station.     (Rockcastle  County.) 

11.  Boone's  Gap.     (Rockcastle  County.) 

12.  Berea.     (Madison  County.) 

13.  Estell  Station,  site  of  Fort  Estell.     (Madison  County.) 

14.  Boonesboro.     (Clark  County.) 


354 


APPENDIX  D 

HISTORICAL  ESTIMATES  OF  THE  SCOTCH-IRISH  AND 
GERMANS  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES  IN   1775 

ACCORDING  to  estimates  of  population  made  by  the  Continental 
Congress  of  1776,  as  a  basis  from  which  to  apportion  the  expenses  of 
war,  the  white  population  of  the  thirteen  original  colonies  in  1775 
was  as  follows: 


New  Hampshire 

102,000 

Massachusetts  (including  Maine) 

352,000 

Rhode  Island 

58,000 

Connecticut 

202,000 

New  York  (including  Vermont) 

238,000 

New  Jersey 

138,000 

Pennsylvania 

341,000 

Delaware 

37.000 

Maryland 

174,000 

Virginia  (including  Kentucky) 

300,000 

North  Carolina  (including  Tennessee) 

1 8 1 ,000 

South  Carolina 

93,000 

Georgia 

27,000 

Total 

2,243,000 

Bancroft  says  of  these  estimates: 

The  discussion  led  the  members  to  exaggerate  the  population  of  their 
respective  colonies:  and  the  aggregate  of  the  estimates  was  made  to 
exceed  three  millions.  Few  of  them  possessed  accurate  materials;  Vir- 
ginia and  the  Carolinas  had  never  enumerated  the  woodsmen  among  the 
mountains  and  beyond  them.  From  returns  which  were  but  in  part 
accessible  to  Congress,  it  appears  that  the  number  of  white  inhabitants 
in  all  the  thirteen  colonies  was,  in  1774,  about  two  million  one  hundred 
thousand;  of  blacks  about  five  hundred  thousand;  the  total  population 
very  nearly  two  million  six  hundred  thousand.' 

Hanna,'  as  a  basis  for  his  estimate  of  the  number  of  Scotch-Irish  in  the 
colonies  in  1775,  discusses  the  estimate  of  the  Continental  Congress  in  some 

1  Bancroft,  George:    History  of   the  United  States  of  America  (author's  last 
revision).  Vol.  IV,  p.  62.    D.  Appleton  and  Co.,  1916. 

2  Hanna,  Charles  A.:   The  Scotch-Irish,  Vol.  I,  Chapter  VI.    New  York,  G.  P. 
Putnam's  Sons,  1902. 

355 


THE  SOUTHERN  HIGHLANDER 

detail.  Applying  to  the  period  between  1 776  and  1 790  the  average  normal 
rate  of  increase  in  America  ever  since  there  have  been  data  to  strike  an 
average — about  3  per  cent  a  year,  the  population  doubling  about  every 
twenty-three  years — he  finds  that  the  actual  population  in  1775  would 
have  been  about  10  per  cent  less  than  the  congressional  estimate.  Basing 
further  estimates  upon  a  state  census  of  New  Hampshire  in  1782,  and  the 
number  of  taxables  in  Pennsylvania  in  1770,  he  continues: 

It  would  seem  that  we  can  safely  follow  this  [Bancroft's]  estimate 
and  assign  700,000,  or  one-third  to  the  territory  east  of  the  Hudson. 

He  then  proceeds  on  this  basis  to  apportion  the  population  of  the  nine 
states  south  of  the  Hudson  in  1775  in  accordance  with  their  relative  popu- 
lation in  1790: 


New  York  (exclusive  of  Vermont) 

New  Jersey 

Pennsylvania 

202,000 
109,000 
273,000 

Delaware 

30,000 

Maryland 

Virginia  (including  Kentucky) 
North  Carolina  (including  Tennessee) 
South  Carolina 

134,000 

325,000 

206,000 

90,000 

Georgia 

34,000 

Total  1,403,000 

Now  we  can  safely  estimate  the  proportion  of  inhabitants  of  Scottish 
blood  or  descent  to  have  been  one-eighth  of  the  whole  white  population 
in  New  York;  one-fifth  to  one-fourth  in  the  states  of  New  Jersey,  Mary- 
land, and  Virginia;  more  than  one-third  in  Pennsylvania,  Delaware, 
North  Carolina,  and  Georgia;  and  one-half  in  South  Carolina. 

Hanna  bases  these  proportions  on  the  number  of  communicants  in  the 
various  churches  of  New  Jersey  in  1830;  on  estimates  of  congregations 
computed  from  information  given  by  Smith  in  his  History  of  the  Province 
of  New  Jersey,  published  1 765 ;  upon  the  enumeration  of  taxables  in  Penn- 
sylvania in  1760  (Colonial  Records,  Vol.  XIV,  p.  336),  as  viewed  in  the 
light  of  historical  research  (see  Proud's  History  of  Pennsylvania,  Vol.  II, 
p.  275,  note)  and  the  large  extent  of  the  Scotch-Irish  element  in  this  state 
and  in  Maryland,  then  included  in  it;  upon  statements  made  in  Jefi"erson's 
Autobiography  (p.  31),  and  the  returns  of  the  Virginia  militia  in  1782, 
annexed  to  Chapter  IX,  Jefferson's  Notes  on  Virginia;  upon  Williamson's 
references  (History  of  North  Carolina,  Vol.  II,  p.  68);  and  Ramsay's 
History  of  South  Carolina  (Vol.  I,  p.  20).  He  also  gives  in  another  chapter 
long  lists  of  early  Presbyterian  congregations.     He  concludes: 

Using  the  census  of  1790  as  a  basis  on  which  to  apportion  the  popula- 

356 


SCOTCH-IRISH  AND  GERMANS  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES  IN    I775 

tion  in  1775,  we  find  from  the  foregoing  estimates  that  the  number  of 
inhabitants  of  Scottish  ancestry  at  that  time  in  the  nine  colonies  south 
of  New  England  (there  were  probably  25,000  in  New  England)  was  close 
to  385,000,  as  follows: 

New  York  25,000 

New  Jersey  25,000 

Pennsylvania  100,000 

Delaware  10,000 

Maryland  30,000 

Virginia  75.ooo 

North  Carolina  65,000 

South  Carolina  45,000 

Georgia  10,000 

Total  385,000 

As  may  be  gathered  from  Chapter  IV  (p.  54),  there  is  no  comparison 
possible  between  the  figures  of  Hanna  and  the  statistics  of  the  Census 
Bureau.  The  compilers  of  A  Century  of  Population  Growth  based  their 
conclusions  on  a  study  of  names,  and  divided  the  elements  of  population 
into  English  and  Welsh,  Scotch,  Irish,  Dutch,  French,  German,  Hebrew, 
and  "all  others."  No  one  or  group  of  these  is  synonymous  with  the 
Scotch-lrish.i     It  would  seem,  therefore,  that  Hanna's  figures  must  be 

i"A  paradoxical  fact  regarding  the  Scotch-Irish  is  that  they  are  very  little 
Scotch,  and  much  less  Irish.  That  is  to  say,  they  do  not  belong  mainly  to  the  so- 
called  Celtic  race,  but  they  are  the  most  composite  of  all  the  people  of  the  British 
Isles.  They  are  called  Scots  because  they  lived  in  Scotia;  and  they  are  called 
Irish  because  they  moved  to  Ireland.  Geography  and  not  ethnology  has  given 
them  their  name.  They  are  a  mixed  race  through  whose  veins  run  the  Celtic  blood 
of  the  primitive  Scot  and  Pict,  the  primitive  Britain,  the  primitive  Irish,  but  with  a 
larger  admixture  of  the  later  Norwegian,  Dane,  Saxon,  and  Angle.  How  this 
amalgamation  came  about  we  may  learn  from  the  geography  of  Scotland. 

"The  highlands  of  Scotland  begin  at  the  Grampian  Hills,  and  the  lowlands 
extend  south  from  this  line  to  the  British  border,  and  include  the  cities  of  Glasgow 
and  Edinburgh.  The  Scotch-Irish  came  from  that  southwest  part  of  the  lowlands 
which  bulges  out  towards  Ireland  north  of  the  Solway  Firth.  Over  these  lowland 
counties,  bounded  by  water  and  hills  on  three  sides,  successive  waves  of  conquest 
and  migration  followed.  First  the  primitive  Caledonian  or  Pict  was  driven  to  the 
Highlands,  which  to  this  day  is  the  Celtic  portion  of  Scotland.  The  Britain  from 
the  south,  pressed  on  by  Roman  and  then  by  Teuton,  occupied  the  country.  Then 
Irish  tribes  crossed  over  and  gained  a  permanent  hold.  Then  the  Norwegian  sailors 
came  around  from  the  north,  and  to  this  day  there  are  pure  Scandinavian  types  on 
the  adjacent  islands.  Then  the  Saxons  and  Angles,  driven  by  the  Danes  and 
Normans,  gained  a  foothold  from  the  east,  and  lastly  the  Danes  themselves  added 
their  contingent.  Here  in  this  lowland  pocket  of  territory,  no  larger  than  a  good- 
sized  .'\merican  county,  was  compounded  for  five  hundred  years  this  remarkable 
amalgam  of  races." 

"More  than  any  other  race  they  served  as  the  amalgam  to  produce,  out  of 
divergent  races,  a  new  race,  the  American.  The  Puritans  of  New  England,  the 
Quakers  of  Pennsylvania,  the  Cavaliers  of  Virginia,  were  as  radically  different  as 

357 


THE  SOUTHERN  HIGHLANDER 

accepted  as  the  nearest  careful  computation  of  the  total  number  of  the 
Scotch  and  Scotch-Irish  in  the  colonies.  It  may  be  noted  that  Fiske 
reckons  that  between  1730  and  1770  at  least  500,000  Irish  were  trans- 
planted, while  the  annals  of  the  Scotch-Irish  Historical  Society  claim 
600,000  before  the  Revolution.  In  the  light  of  these,  Hanna's  estimate  of 
410,000  in  the  thirteen  colonies  is  conservative. 

Faust,  the  German  historian,  after  commenting  upon  the  estimates  of 
Hanna,  says  that  it  is  just  as  difficult  to  get  at  the  approximate  number  of 
inhabitants  in  1775  who  were  of  German  blood.  He  continues  by  basing 
estimates  upon  a  census  made  by  the  Rev.  M.  Kocherthal,  of  the  Palati- 
nates in  New  York  State  in  1718,  this  estimate  checked  and  corrected  by 
other  data;  by  records  of  the  immigration  at  the  port  of  Philadelphia  from 
1727,  from  which  Kuhns  (German  and  Swiss  Settlements  of  Colonial 
Pennsylvania,  p.  57)  and  Rupp  (1.  D.  Rupp:  A  Collection  of  Thirty 
Thousand  Names  of  German,  etc.,  Immigrants  in  Pennsylvania)  have 
computed  the  number  of  Germans  landed  between  1727  and  1775;  by 
numbers  of  German  churches  in  some  of  the  colonies,  reports  of  early 
Moravian  missionaries,  and  various  other  data.  He  feels  justified,  there- 
fore, in  apportioning  the  Germans  as  below,  with  the  following  con- 
clusions: 

New  England  1,500 

New  York  25,000 

Pennsylvania  110,000 

New  Jersey  15,000 

Maryland  and  Delaware  20,500 

Virginia  and  West  Virginia  25,000 

North  Carolina  8,000 

South  Carolina  15,000 

Georgia  5,000 

Total  225,000 

This  estimate  is  very  conservative,  being  based  upon  estimates  of  the 
numbers  in  known  German  colonies.  The  number  of  scattered  German 
settlers  in  the  large  cities,  and  the  number  of  settlements  of  which  there 
is  no  record,  must  have  been  quite  large.  An  estimate  of  two  hundred 
and  twenty-five  thousand  inhabitants  of  German  blood  at  the  outbreak 

peoples  of  different  races,  and  they  were  separated  from  each  other  in  their  own 
exclusive  communities.  The  Germans  were  localized  in  Pennsylvania  and  Mary- 
land, the  Dutch  in  New  York,  but  the  Scotch-Irish  were  present  in  sufficient 
numbers  in  all  colonies  to  make  their  interests  felt." — Commons,  John  R.:  Races 
and  Immigrants  in  America,  New  York,  The  Macmillan  Company,  1913. 

"The  term  Scotch-Irish  was  early  used  in  Scottish  Universities  to  designate  the 
students  from  Ulster.  The  Ulster  student  was  registered  as  'Scotto  Hibernus.'  " — 
Ford,  Henry  Jones:  The  Scotch-Irish  in  America,  p.  521.  Princeton  University 
Press,  1915. 


SCOTCH-IRISH  AND  GERMANS  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES  IN   I  775 

of  the  Revolution  must  therefore  be  regarded  as  a  minimum.  It  would 
mean  that  a  little  more  than  one-tenth  of  the  total  white  population  at 
the  beginning  of  the  war  of  independence  was  of  German  hlood.  In 
certain  localities,  of  course,  the  German  population  was  much  larger  in 
proportion  to  the  total  population,  notably  in  Pennsylvania,  where  it 
was  one-third  of  the  total  number.  Future  researches  in  the  colonial 
history  of  the  Germans  will  undoubtedly  reveal  larger  numbers  than 
have  been  given  above,  but  the  attempt  has  been  made  here  to  confine 
the  estimate  within  limits  that  are  clearly  incontestable. 1 

*  Faust,  Albert  Berhardt:    The  German  Element  in  the  United  States,  Vol.  I, 
p.  285.    Boston,  Houghton,  Mifflin  and  Co.,  1909. 


359 


SUMMARY  STATISTICAL  TABLES 


UJ 


Q 

< 


Q 
Z 
< 

o 


z 

a: 

UJ 

I 

H 
D 
O 

UJ 

a: 

H 

Q 
Z 

< 

Q 
Z 

< 


X      ^ 


—      I 


I 


z  j2 

m 

I  >- 
H  oa 
D 
O 

UJ 

X 

H 

u. 
O 

(A 

u 


u 

< 

a 

in 


< 

of 
< 


U 

oa 
< 


(*- 

o    ri 

enti 

are 

tate 

r^'<«-  —  vp  r^o\r^Tfq 

c 
.2 

VO    rf^  rr,  n    doO    tS    C^O 

• 

O    P3  J2 

M-ro(SM         ■^-'tO 

'5b 

OJ   o'o 

a 

a.  - 

_c 

c5 

re 

aj 

c 

■3      ^ 

3 

O 

cent 
Ota  I 
tain 

rr\  —    0^  O   —    ■^  C^OO    »^ 

o 

S 

ri  t>>—  fi   C\(N  "^^^  — 

8 

u.  *-    C 

^ 

a;         3 

D,         O 

E 

0^"^—    —    Ot^r^fNfS 

(S 

2^ 

r^  (N  00  •<i-  -^  a^oo  vo  fs 

r*^ 

(S   t^  —   C^  r^  -^O   rs   O 

r<-. 

c2 

-CO  6  Oioo-  o"  -  o"  -^ 

l/N 

H  « 

l/^li^T^         rfrO'^Tj-pj 

c 

I^rfC^—    CnO    -^On 

r^ 

I  're  c 

O    rr,r^C^"^a^O    t^ 

M 

c  -^  o 

^00  0C^__VO    t^  C^  rn     . 

r~ 

, 

[NO 

moun 

regi 

rA  o"vD  r^x"  t<.  "^  d"    ' 

rr\ 

« 

m  u-»  M           r^  M    (S    tS 

c 

<N    —    (SO    —    "^^<~i"~>N 

S" 

o 

• 

-■«  c 

t^C^O    ^  O    OOOOO    <N 

o 

§ 

S^.o 

o  oc  "^  <s  —  r^  f^oo_  o_ 

^, 

O    3    6X3 

-  o  2i 

r<-^:  r-i  n^  m"  d^  rf  r^  o.  -^ 

— 

— 

i 

_           _           —           _    —    M 

-■ 

E 

1   "O 

>>  = 

J2 

(u  1-  r. 

uv>0    N  CO                  t^  C\  — 

00 

"■ 

•<J-X   O   (^      •     ■   fS   -   'J^ 

m 

o 

j:  m  — 

r^  —    ^(^  —      •      ■    '^  <^  O^ 

C} 

lf\ 

VO"         1^  —                 t-i  ir\  o 

<a 

C 

I-  2 

<ulc  >, 

O  CTn       c^           oo  O  - 

r^ 

00 

•"    U    1? 

C\   "-         *     ITS       •         ■     —     O     ^ 

r^ 

<s 

(N 

S^=5 

q^  (N    ■  •<a-    •    •  c\oo_  C} 

■^ 

>-  w  J^ 

lA  n^                    >o"  t^  — 

lA 

^e^ 

(S 

< 

2^  Mi 

r^o       ^  —  "^00  'ii- 

Tf 

^^ 

"-.CO       ■  \C    O    O    rr;\r)       ■ 

O 

f>. 

-•2-i 

00^  •^    •  vT)  —  r^  ^cq^    ■ 

"■ 

(S 

:ac2m 

— "  •<!?           o  (N  i-Avo* 

6 

re 

O) 

^ 

re 

c 

're 

c 

3 

o 

a; 

4^ 

E 

c« 

4-> 

to 

re  re 

re 

•  £  E             2 

^-j 

o 

"o  "o          .E 

^        >.-a  re  rt  Si        Ef 
g.re-^^UU^.re--^ 

"re 

o 
c 

Alabai 
Georg 
Kentu 
Mary  I 
North 
South 
1  ennc 
Virgin 
West 

o 

Perce 

C    "i 

V    Ji 

-t-j  re 

s^ 

■"  re 

3  — 

•"    BO 

>^I 

1)  

W3  re 

reS 

—  u 

lu  re 

re  <^ 

^ 

j=  - 

tj  ^ 

•3    O 

jc  vi; 

is  c 

>/>  ^ 

1)   o 

c  « 

3    OJ 

» .»  

>, 

T3 

«-* 

(U    3 

r 

T3    O 

-1 

s  ^ 

o 

X)    C 

.eJ 

c 

n3  -^ 

re 

1-  s 

^J   bjo 

c 

O    iT 

3 

'—  re 

o 

O  — 
re  >^ 

E 

(U    w 

" 

u.  J= 

n 

f^    tjo 

re 

^  l^ 

j= 

^    uo 

2^ 

<Ll 

OJ      . 

j: 

J=   <u 

m 

*-"  t 

kl 

«.H 

<U    OJ 

7  , 

"O    i- 

^i: 

j= 

t-l  ^ 

c     . 

1*  .i 

4J 

Xi  ac 

T3 

(/) 

IE  « 

0) 

C 

o 

=^  i; 

(1) 

■^    ?r 

Xi 

3  ec 

x:i3 

>% 

>«     OJ 

re 

.ici 

b 

JZ    H- 

re 

■-»— 

O    w 

re 

o    o 

(/i 

(/)  ^^ 

O    <-> 

j= 

cLre 

*-• 

i_  >- 

3    2 

o 

^■fl 

^.E 

re 

•-    3 

>. 

O    o 

<u 

4-* 

re 
E 

|3 

o 

-i 

«   "- 

o. 

a. 

<  >; 

< 

rt   U 

ja 

360 


SUMMARY  STATISTICAL  TABLES 


TABLE  17.— POPULATION  OF  THE  SOUTHERN  HIGHLANDS  AND  THE 
SOUTHERN  HIGHLAND  STATES,  1 89O,  1 9OO,  I9IO,  AND  PER  CENT  OF 
INCREASE  FROM   189O  TO   I9OO,  AND  FROM    I9OO  TO   I9IO,   BY  STATES 


Blue  Ridge  Belt 

State 

Per  cent  of  increase 

Population 
1890 

Population 
1900 

Population 

1910 

I 890- I 900 

1900-1910 

Alabama 

44,889 

46,449 

51,025 

3-5 

9.9 

Georgia 

126,778 

140,048 

'47.94' 

10.5 

5.6 

Maryland 

49.5 '2 

51,920 

52,673 

49 

15 

North  Carolina 

288,427 

352,865 

394,018 

22.3 

11.7 

South  Carolina 

'34.77' 

162,059 

204,601 

20.2 

26.3 

Tennessee 

103,429 

123,450 

137,566 

19.4 

II. 4 

Virginia 

250,296 

262,712 

269,406 

5.0 

2-5 

West  Virginia 

Total 

998, 1 02 

'.139,503 

1,257,230 

14.2 

10.3 

Greater  Appalachian 

Valley 

Alabama 

232,306 

302.633 

410,511 

30.3 

35.6 

Georgia 

128,002 

'43.479 

163,369 

12.1 

'39 

Maryland 

39.782 

45. '33 

49,6 '7 

'3-5 

9-9 

North  Carolina 

,   . 

.   . 

South  Carolina 

Tennessee 

378,924 

443.3 '4 

504.523 

17.0 

13.8 

Virginia 

315.940 

348,708 

386,694 

10.4 

10.9 

West  Virginia 

59.985 

62,953 

66,593 

4-9 

5.8 

Total 

'.'54.939 

1,346,220 

1,581,307 

16.6 

'7-5 

Allegheny-Cumberla 

ND  Belt 

Alabama 

188,271 

225,561 

270,199 

19.8 

19.8 

Georgia 

5.707 

4.578 

4.'39 

-19.8 

-9.6 

Kentucky 

388,364 

492,489 

580,919 

26.8 

18.0 

Maryland 

55.784 

7',395 

82,516 

28.0 

15.6 

North  Carolina 

.  . 

South  Carolina 

Tennessee 

165,276 

192,701 

218,056 

16.6 

13.2 

Virginia 

1 1  1 ,806 

146,518 

181,219 

31.0 

23.7 

Vk'est  Virginia 

702,809 

895,847 

1.154.526 

27-5 

28.9 

Total 

1,618,017 

2,029,089 

2,491.574 

254 

22.8 

361 


SUMMARY  STATISTICAL  TABLES 


TABLE  17. — POPULATION  OF  THE  SOUTHERN  HIGHLANDS  AND  THE 
SOUTHERN  HIGHLAND  STATES,  189O,  I9OO,  I9IO,  AND  PER  CENT  OF 
INCREASE  FROM   189O  TO  I9OO,  AND  FROM   1 9OO  TO  I9IO,  BY   STATES. 

— {Concluded) 


State 


Alabama 
Georgia 
Kentucky 
Maryland 
North  Carolina 
South  Carolina 
Tennessee 
Virginia 
West  Virginia 


Total 


Total  mountain  region 


Population 
1890 


465,466 
260,487 
388,364 
145,078 
288,427 

134.771 
647,629 
678,042 
762,794 


Population 
1900 


574.643 
288,105 
492,489 
168,448 
352,865 
162,059 
759,465 
757,938 
958,800 


3,771.058 


4,514,812 


Population 
1910 


731.735 
3 '5.449 
580,919 
184,806 
394,018 
204,601 
860,145 

837.319 
1,221,1 19 


5,330,111 


Per  cent  of  increase 


1 890- 1 900 

235 

10.6 

26.8 

16.2 

22.3 

20.2 

'7-3 
11.8 

257 

19.7 

1 900-1910 


27.3 

9.5 

18.0 

9-7 
11.7 
26.3 

'3-3 
10.5 
27-4 

18.1 


Non-mountain  region 

Alabama 
Georgia 
Kentucky 
Maryland 
North  Carolina 
South  Carolina 
Tennessee 
Virginia 
West  Virginia 

'.047.55' 
1,576,866 

1.470.271 
897,312 
1,329,520 
1,016,378 
1,11 9,889 
977.938 

',254,054 
1,928,226 
1,654,685 
1,019,596 
'.540.945 
',178,257 
1,261,151 
1,096,246 

1,406,358 
2,293,672 
1,708,986 
1,110,540 
1,812,269 
1,310,799 
1,324,644 
1,224,293 

19.7 
22.3 
12.5 
13.6 
15.9 
15.9 
12.6 
12.1 

12.1 
19.0 

3-3 

8.9 

17.6 

1 1.2 

5.0 

11.7 

Total 

9.435,725 

10,933,160 

12,191,561 

15.9 

II. 5 

Total  state 

Alabama 
Georgia 
Kentucky 
Maryland 
North  Carolina 
South  Carolina 
Tennessee 
Virginia 
West  Virginia 

1,513,017 

1,837,353 
1,858,635 
1,042,390 

1. 6 17.947 
1,151,149 

1,767.518 
1,655,980 

762,794 

1,828,697 
2,216,331 

2,147,174 
1,188,044 
1,893,810 
1,340,316 
2,020,616 
1,854,184 
958,800 

2,138,093 
2,609,121 
2,289,905 
1.295,346 
2,206,287 
1,515,400 
2,184,789 
2,061,612 
1,221,1 19 

20.9 
20.6 

'5-5 
14.0 
17.1 
16.4 
14.3 
12.0 
25.7 

16.9 

17.7 

6.6 

9.0 

16.5 

13. 1 
8.1 

1 1.2 
27.4 

Total 

13,206,783 

15.447,972 

17,521,672 

17.0 

13.4 

362 


SUMMARY  STATISTICAL  TABLES 


o 

C\ 

^s 

^ 

2 

0-  S 

^www  o  WW^^ 

</> 

u 

o 

E 

-r-c-x (H 

-r 

< 

(N 

H 

3 

_" 

ti 

(/) 

z 

>- 

OQ 

n     OJ 

—    rrs  r<    C^,  r<^  —    -^30    ^*^ 

r^ 

^ 

o  -^  fA  Tf  x;  c-  d  -f  "-- 

— 

UJ 

o 

r<   -                   p<        - 

— 

u 

4) 

< 

Or^.  —  ^na<.  r^Or^ 

vo 

z 

^ 

VO   0_  -^  -  X_  "^  q;3D    - 

Q 

E 

3 

z 

o 

z 

O   lAoo"  cf>  (S  o  o"  1^  -^ 

'f 

On  ■f  —         rn  l/^00   M  VD 

"N 

< 

""                                        ■■ 

^O 

> 

H 

q^  t-^x  —  f<^  c^^q  m  r-;. 

<N 

> 

~^  iA\o  lA  —  d  d  lA  rf 

o6 

—   u 

t^X    C\  Oi  0\  t^  CvX    On 

X 

< 

k. 

O    O    —    O    n^T^-rrr<^,  [^ 

^ 

Z 

O  J= 

u 

O    rr.  O  ^    C^   -rf  —    (N    - 

X 

H  > 

Xi 

q.  ^  n^Aq_o  o  -  i^x 

(N 

>- 

E 

O    O    f^    lAv  CN  ^J^  ^  rAo* 

rA 

OQ 

3 

•^  t^O    r^  l/^  -^  I^  —    ir\ 

o 

Z 

ir\r(   ir\—  rr>—   t^r^  — 

t-^ 

z 

_J" 

-f 

o 

^•^ 

H 

t  c 

"^N    Tt-'^rrNirsI^r^t^ 

r^ 

< 

c 

0_   iJ 

-OOrr'OdoO-^ 

- 

0. 

eo  c 

■^  o 

»- 

O 

o 

—  t^iA\roCN(S  t-fs  n 

ir\ 

o^ 

^ 

■^  "^X    C^  (N    -  X    O    r^ 

XC^O    —   — NO'O    —   O 

\o 

CU 

u. 

E 

T 

Q 

3 

O          P*  O    —         iA\vo   t^ 

6 

z 

< 

z 

—                                                 ir\ 

ON 

as 

^ 

c 

fee 

rr-O  X  O    -f  u^  rrsX    t^ 

(S 

o 

^  .ii 

riddd^dd  —  6-^ 

ri 

z 

rr  c^  —  r^x  (N  r^  ^x 

ON 

r3 

^ 

X  X    "^  ^X  X (^ 

X 

a: 

c 

o^ 

E 

u^  [^  uv  r^o    On  M    OO 

o 

Ul 

^ 

3 

z 

^o  -  TT  ri  -       -  o"  r-i 

ds 

I 

o 

> 

—                 —                 —          ir\ 

3 

O 

t/5 

<-• 

0-  3 

d-^iA(Nddo6'»^tA 

u 

Z 

CI 

>  ^ 

I^X    ox    ON  t^X  X  X 

X 

X 

r3    ^ 

k- 

"^■^"^OO    O   (NX    t^ 

r^ 

=  S 

«j 

XXX   n   t^i/%-   o   o 

(S 

O 

js 

•^x  o_  r^x  -^  (N  ro  — 

r> 

o=" 

E 

r<^  rC  lA  —  o"  f^  rT  d"  rf 

r»> 

3 

—  O    i^  l/^  i/>  Tf  VO   O    ^ 

ON 

z 

z 

ll^r^   u^—   iT\—   t^t^o 

■>r 

o 

"• 

^ 

H 

"^  O^  OO  X    -    ">  0>  ON 

^^ 

—    r3 

r^-^—    O    —    O-rf—    — 

■M 

to 

t^  r:   C 

r>.  -^  c;x_^  c  o_  -  '^  - 

mm 

O 

o  g..2 
HO- 

—    iA  o"   Tf  »f  -^  O"   t^  — 

d 

c 

'^  —  XX  cnono  mn 

rr^ 

s 

t^rrsu^—   rr\fNXX   <S 

rr\ 

o 

— 

lA 

u 

.E  c           « 

00 

s'i      ;e 

>^^  n  t  f,       £f 

CQ 

12 

E  .2  ^  ^  ^  O'  ^  .2  > 

"  £f53;-5^  S.e:1 

u 


ID 
O. 


c 

rz 


—  1/ 


363 


SUMMARY  STATISTICAL  TABLES 


Q 
Z 
< 

X 

o 


z 

ui 

I 
1- 

O 

I 

H 


Q 
Z 

1/5 

Q 
Z 
< 


UJ 


I  o 

1  - 


in 
u 
1- 
< 

1- 
;/) 

>- 

tU    CO 

H 


< 

D 
O 
;/5 

Oi 

u 
Z 

o 

< 
.J 

D 
cu 

O 
c 


C\ 


03 
i2 


■^  s 

t>.rrO   rr,^^^^^•^r^oq 

r>- 

o2 

—   ttS-O   l'^d^M   —    O 

6 

■^•"a-"^!^'^'^"^''^"^ 

LTN 

_c 

1  'rt  C 

rr--vo->i-q\(s-<r- 

<S 

No; 

moun 

regie 

t-^  lA  ro  tJ-VO    t^  tiv  O       • 

ri 

rrs  TfO    tT  -^  ■^  u^^ 

ITS 

c 

— 'P  = 

rt  5  o 

l/^0    I^—    0>0    -^  —  00 

00 

Tot 
oun 
regi 

r<^  6    "^  (N    Cn  '^cd   (S    6 

r^ 

ir>  ■^  tTOO    (^  t^  -^  •^  "^ 

■<«• 

E 

1  "a 

>^5 

c   rt 

leghei 

mberl 

Belt 

-  (n;-  t-^  (s     ,      CO  r^  'I- 

Tf  fs   •^  t^              (S   rr\  ir> 

"* 

<a 

c 

rt 

k-  •  — 

r^oo       —    _       o^\p  •^ 

» 

rea 
ala 
'all 

6    6      !  00       '.      '.   t^    &  rf\ 

ri 

CO    ">         O                r^  •*  rri 

\o 

O  g;-^ 

■■ 

< 

^  So- 

00  o    _  •^  q  >o  c^  <s 

'^. 

r>«  n^     !   C\  Cn  "^00    c^     . 

mm 

m^ca 

r)    r^^        r^  1^.  t^  m  rrs 

^ 

OJ 

4-* 

n 

■*-< 

C/3 

ma 

ia 

cky 

and 

Carolina 
Carolina 

ssee 

ia 

Virginia 

13 

Alabai 
Georg; 
Kentu 
Maryl 
North 
South 
Tennc 
Virgin 
West 

o 
H 

364 


SUMMARY  STATISTICAL  TABLES 


H 
Z 

Is. 

12^ 


(/3 

H 
< 


z 

(0 

< 

I 

>• 

H 

CQ 

10 

(O 

ID 

UJ 

_J 

W 

< 

II, 

\- 

O 

Ui 

(/I 

Q 

u 

^ 

u 

< 

< 

-J 

o 

Z  I 


z 

UJ 

X 
H 
D 

O 
to 

U) 

X 
H 


z 

o 

p 
< 

cu 
O 

0. 

-] 
< 

D 

O 

Z 

u 

q:; 

ID 
cu 

Q 

z 
< 

w 

CO 

D 
Z 


Z 

fti 

Ui 

X 

H 

O 
to 

uu 

X 


O 
03 


4-' 

c 

r^  f^  O  i'^  f^\o  o  0^  "^ 

<s 

U 

00    "<J-Mvd    —    do    r<^"^ 

■<t- 

QJ 

t^  t^  t^  ■<rx  (30  t^  t^  t-» 

r^ 

rj    lU 

D- 

O    « 

u 

00^00    r^&^l/^u^•^t■a^ 

—  o  —  ^^<^^ooa^^^'r 

t>.\0  \q_  —   r<   O   0   "^  r^ 

o 

^ 

E 

ri  CC  CC   ri    -^  ri  —   ri  — 

3 

z 

00    l^Tj-O    CjvinO    <s    in 
VO    CTWO  ^    t^  (N  O    "-.  O- 

rt 

""■■"■          "■""   —    — 

— 

r3 

c 

U 

—  OOVO   r^u^rt   iTNrrs 

On 

■^riiArAcs—    n-vr>-     ! 

^ 

X) 

00  t->\D  -"I-  r^oo  t^O 

r^ 

1° 

a. 

Urn 

<S  QO  »^o  t^  —  ^  •^ 
C\\o  -  ONOO  <s  r^oo 

ON 

(U 

rr\ 

1      u 

ja 

C^\0    C^  (S   —   0^  "^  0^ 

4r\ 

c 
o 

E 

r^OO    —    ^'^—    '^^*^rr^ 

-M 

3 

~  ^.  ~  "^  "1:  °.  '^'^ 

o 

Z 

z 

r^ 

"""■""           ■■    "■ 

x" 

4-« 

c 

c 

^<^^0   t^  M  >0    rr\  On  ■^  •^ 

■<i- 

n 

u 

CO   l'^0    f^CNt^CNrr\ir\ 

dv 

Is 

a> 

vd  00   ON^  00   t^  t^OO   t^ 

t^ 

CL 

I'm 

i« 

\£)00    rr,  —    fS    •'tONO    ON 

<s 

CJ 

r«    rTN  O  00    •'l-VO    -    -^  rr 

o 

*—  k. 

^ 

t^  0^  t^OO   O    —    1^  "^  r) 

r^ 

n 

E 

^ 

o 

3 

z 

rTN 

u~ 

■^r«    ir\  —    rr>  —  \C>  \o    O^ 

N 

■^ 

^^ 

1 

c 

—    q    t^  O                 (N    rr,  rr 

00 

\d  d  d  00    i    i  d  x  "^ 
X  o  ON  »/>          c-.x  r^ 

ml 

cu 

X 

k- 

a\  o  '<>  ">          o  (s  X 

^ 

"J  5 

u 

—    rr<  O    "^               O    O^  ON 

X) 

"^  —    r^X      .      .  ^    O    - 

60  >- 

E 

rT  ■^'O  r^   •    -^c  o  c 

x" 

=  J3 

3 

z 

rr\        M    ■*               CO    r^ 

ro 

< 

<S         i/^                     X 

ri 

4~* 

il 

u 

00 

c^-t: 

i^X        ^                C--  t^  t^ 

o 

eater  A| 
:hian  Va 

C- 

^ 

r^  M       ON           'I-  rr  - 

t^ 

CJ 

CN  t^          r^                 _    _    iy~. 

X 

J2 

(S    fi      .    1^     .      .    (S    —    O 

■<r 

E 

3 

z 

X    —       ■    —              ■    r^  'TN  — 

x" 

0-2 

—    rr\         rry             NC  X    "^ 
(S    —                              ro  <N 

^-t 

C 

q\  ON     _    (SO    rrvoq  00 

r^ 

<u 

o 

lA  d     i   —   On  r^  M  -^    i 

X 

60 

CJ 

C\  On        t^X   r-«  On  ON 

X 

T3 
i^^ 

D- 

ka 

O      I^              t^    (S      Tf    ITS    -T}- 

ON 

01  qq 

0) 

—   <S        X    -^O    O    rr\ 

\o 

3 

XI 

C\  irs        TT  O    —    t^  rrs 

03 

E 

x"  -^    •  ri  "-^x"  t^  "^    • 

ir\ 

3 

^  n^        (^  i^  i^  r(    l/^ 

— 

•-•                 rr\  —    —    (s 

z 

- 

rS    rs 

.c  c             n 

"o^     ;§ 

4> 

>^TJ  n   n   ii        £F 

~ 

,o 

365 


SUMMARY  STATISTICAL  TABLES 


> 

O 

Q   O 

<  <^ 


01 

H 

2 

(0 

< 

fU 

H 

H 

D3 
< 

in 

X 

7. 

>■ 

OJ 

-  < 

O  "^ 

tu  Z 

u  < 

<  -J 

-1  I 


z 

I 
f- 

O 

u 
I 

H 


Z 

o 

< 

D 
c 
O 

Z 

< 

CO 

u. 
O 

H 
Z 

u 
u 

ti. 

Ui 

c 
Q 

z 
< 

Di 
W 

CQ 

D 
Z 


W 
-J 
CQ 
< 


o  5 
1-  ^ 


c 

3 

O 

E 

c 
o 

Z 


c 

o 


o.b; 


o 


SO  >~ 


<> 


a 


bD 

_3 

ca 


c 

u 


£ 

3 

z 


c 

0- 


3 

z 


c 


B 

3 

Z 


c 


E 


c 
a; 


Z2 


3 

z 


c 


(Ll 

E 

3 

Z 


c/5 


00 


lr^  i/r  t^  ^GO    "^  '^00    O 
n^,  ir\  (s   —   O    rA^O_  '-t'^. 


oo" 

(S 


lA  t-^  ri-vo   d  CO  vd   ri 


GO 


>o  o  r^  ■'i-oo  t^o  o 

^-^  O    O    fS   O  00_^  0_  <^^ 
rr\  u*v  t^  ITS  —  \0    "   O 


r^  -"J-  moo  -"T  t^  —  ^  ^O 
—  -^  d^O  d  ri  d  ^  •^ 


o 
o" 


d 


O    —    —   <Nr^rrN<st^t^ 

(s"  lA  ^f  rC  d'  \o  (N  go"  d\ 

rr\  Tj-  ll^^O    ■^  '^  t^  "^  C\ 


o 


C^  O 


rr\  O 


CO  r-o 


CO  "  -\o 


\0   t^CO 

■  -rf  —    rf^ 

■  -    -    rf 

(s  ts  00 


00 


00 
ro, 


ooo 

vd  cK 
^  - 


O  CO   1^ 

;  CO  vd    rA 


00 


0\  rr\ 


■  o 
■qo" 


O  CO  ^ 

rr\  ir\  tTN 

-^  r^  l/^ 

T}-  o  - 


■*  0\ 


00 

!o6 


d   ri   t^  ''N 
—  <s 


—  —        00   1^  r<^0    r^ 

-  tt    :  -  cr\  -^oo^  q_ 
-      -  -r  T      ~ 


o 

00_ 

ri 

O 


rt    r; 

C    C 

o  d           •= 

„        >^'T3   S   ra   tJ        £f 

p  5  o  rt^-^^-^  </i.:j:> 

"n 

Alaba 
Georg 
Kentu 
Maryl 
North 
South 
'1  enne 
Virgin 
West 

■*-• 
o 

366 


SUMMARY  STATISTICAL  TABLES 


UJ 

c 

I 

o 

r^lr^w^r^*t*p*^O^C'X 

r^ 

*- 

■^rso  ■*  t^cc  X  -r  u~-  rj 

rTN 

_rt 

t^oc  00  c^  "^  i-'0_  '^^_ 

r*^ 

Z 

3 

rC  —    lA  -jf  /N^oc"   rt   ri- 
ce   r<^0O   1^  On>0  00  VO   I^ 

cf> 

O. 

"■ 

t;  rt 

O 

■•• 

r*» 

CO 

o  J: 

C- 

H 

Z 

V 

\£)    lr^O^■^0^"^0   0\0 

<s 

t  2 

'S 

irvQO     l**^   M     ITS    ^    ITS    ■^    'I" 

m  C^ 

V 

c 

X 

c 

_o 

f  o  <s  O  oo  r^  '^qo 

00    -t^O  \C   O  X  00    o 

z     • 

'n 

P3 

t^  Tt  I/--  r)   —   <s   M   On    • 

^ 

1° 

1  ^ 

3 
C 

o 

lA  d  i^x"  -TOO  ri  m"    ■ 

d 

"^(S\C   MX   i^n^rrs 

X 

fS    ^ 

o 

rj-  t^  rrs  0^  i^VO    (^  — 

o  t 

z. 

'•S 

rTNt^-*—    u^"^<N<N 

1-  ffl 

u 

O   CO 

c 

Q    UJ 
O   H 

c 

o 

r»~.  lA^  rr,  t^VO  ^  O    —  X 

ly^ 

VD    (S  X   —    t^  OVO    "^  rj 

o 

— "  < 

rj 

_rt 

O  ■^  <S    ^  '^  ~    "T^-^. 

I^ 

H 

1.1 

P  to 

3 

o 

—   — '  ri'O"  Cn  o"  "^  Cn  — 

x" 

O     Q 

r^  -   «                -    ■*  (S   t^ 

^   < 

n 

fs  X  vo  ir^^o  r~»  r^  o^ 

VO 

U.    -1 

o 

*^ 

r<          -                      N    -    -"T 

ir\ 

O   X 

o 

h- 

U 

1/2   — 

"<^ 

1 

.2 

-   °  X    ON               <r,  "^  2 
(S         (S  O _•     •   "C  'C  ^ 

_ 

3  -r. 

r3 

X 

OF  PL 
UTHER 

-^1 

"5 

-           M                         -         VO 

1) 

z  o 

«S  O  VO   m    •     •   O   li^  •^ 

O 

o  ^ 

=  -^ 

*-' 

_  ^    _           .     .   _         Tj- 

C\ 

P    UJ 

< 

u 

<  I 

^    H 

c 

POPU 
D  IN 

i    >^ 

r}->0          —                 ■^  t^  fS 

■<r 

?   a? 

«_) 

r<-\  u>         r^              —    C^.X 

ITN 

<> 

3 

ITS 

UJ  5 

O 

<   ;/) 

S-c 

i« 

O    Q 
UJ   Z 

o 

00   "^     •   —      •      •    N   —   N 

ON 

ft!   < 

u 

O   -> 

c 
.2 

O   X 

<  o 

u^  C\        "^^  \0    —    C^ 

O 

4-> 

—  vc        u^  r^  ovo  0\ 

t^ 

<  5 

_rt 

—  r<^   ;  o_  ■^  -  x_  r^   ; 

x_ 

3 

o 

ri  rf         —    ^  O    C\  •^ 

'T 

vOZ 

3 

Cl. 

UMBE 
OUTH 

s 

t/1 

r*  fo    •  -\£)  t^  ITS  m    ■ 

u 

Z  </) 

M 

UJ 

< 

4 

u 

■a 

„        >>^  «  «  S        E? 

tz 

-1 

0 

0 

«  S  5  «  o  g  g.t:-^; 

p 

367 


SUMMARY  STATISTICAL  TABLES 


u 

X 


a: 
u 
> 

o  o 

z  ~ 
< 


< 

ffi 
< 

X 

z 


8 


(N 


> 
CO 

(/T 

UJ 

H 
< 

f- 


a 
u.  z 
o< 


H 

U 

U. 
O 

z 

o 

p 
< 

D 
a. 

O 

a. 

UJ 

< 

O 
U 

o 
o 
< 

Q 
Z 

<z 

UJ    u 

I 

H 

D 
O 

1/3 


z 

UJ 

I 

H 

O 

U 

H 
Z 

Q 
Z 
< 

C/5 

Q 
Z 

< 

-J 

I 

o 


ffl 
z 


UJ 

03 
< 


c 

_o 

00Orir^•^P^l/^CT^r^ 

•^ 

r<  ^/^•<ro^r^''^■^n  "^ 

rrs 

P3 

^  \0    'T  -    TJ-DO   O    "^  (N 

O 

3 
D. 
O 

t-^OO  "^(xToo  -*  -  ooo" 

i 

KM 

VO    ^(^^r^li^—    <s    TTr^fS 

m  irv  ir,\0   rr\  N   tT  -"T  M 

oo_ 

o  2 

cu 

fo 

(/I 

.Si 

^-.ly^O    l/^0    kiNONf^    "^ 

00 

-t-" 

fS'<l-Tr--<J-<S<Hr^N 

r- 

U 

p* 

c 
2 

r«   •*C^•^■<r—   i/v  — 

QO^  o  QQ  r^  a\oo  o 

ir\  i^v  kr\  CT^  ^  ^'^  t^  ^ 

o 

c 

C\ 

'rt 

<-• 

1^ 

(^ 

ri  Tf  r^\0\0  CO    rr\  ri     • 

Oi 

c  c 

3 

VO  O   (N   C3^00Q0   -VO 

■^ 

3    O 

Q. 

—   i/%ir\ir\cj   —   rr\  rr\ 

q^ 

1     k. 

s. 

pf 

c 

</l 

o 

.i 

vOO^^O^"^^^^«•'^    . 

r^ 

Z 

u 

—  rrv  pr^       m  pt  —  — 

QO 

c 

_c 

_o 

^  ^    r^OQ   Q    -   O  00   <N 
O    O    C^.  <^.  'C  '^.  t  ~    "^ 

■^ 

rt 

^-l 

■<1- 

P5 

VO 

l§ 

3 

o"  •^  -"  -'■  -  VO  t<  S.CC 
O   rrs  rt\\0   rt\  rf\  n  O   ri 

ON 
UN 

o 

ei                            —  —  M 

QO 

c£ 

""       ka 

rt 

« 

o 

.2i 

—  *0^0   ir\rr.p<   r>."^ 

^^ 

U 

-                            —  -  n 

a\ 

c 

E*- 

.2 

>0   O   (^  0^             i/N  M   M 

t>. 

*-i 

v£)         m\o             >0   r^OO 

00 

3-j; 

n 

Tf        "^  "^    •     •  *^.  'C*^. 

p* 

Um 

3 

d"      — "  o"   ■    •  lA  pi  -"f 

^ 

^1 

Q. 

M         pTi  m                   —   — 

tr^ 

ao  ir 

VI 

^^ 

aj 

Tf  O  ^    rr>     ■      ■   n   rr\  rr\ 

M 

< 

U 

r< 

■<r 

c 

«  ^ 

o 

O    -•         r^              k/s  ^*^  O 

o 

•^ 

00    •*        O                ONOOO 

"5 

D.— 

ns 

irv  O      .   l/^     .      .   rr\  (S   rrv 

3-^ 

3 

^  u^     •  \£r     ■      ■   — '  t-i  ro 

rr\ 

<> 

D. 

t^  fS         -                P<  00   - 

-t 

k.    _ 

O 

—                                  — 

■<1- 

CL 

Vi 

Oi2 

t>.  ■^    •   —     •      •   O   P<   fi 

>o 

.^ 

rr\ 

u 

c 

o 

O   uv       n  Q  —  O   n>, 

M. 

00 

■^ 

2^ 

rS 

O      .    —    UN  PI          Pt      . 

T3 

3 

o\   •  -^  -  vo      a\   ■ 

8 

£^ 

Q. 
O 

—   re,  rr> 

_3 

CL 

(/I 

CO 

U 

O   P«     •   P<   i^  rr\  O   P<     ■ 

■f 

2    Bl 

.c  c           w 

"i'^s     ;i 

4J 

"f3 

C/" 

Alabai 
Georg 
Kentu 
Maryl 
North 
South 
Tenne 
Virgin 
West 

o 
H 

368 


SUMMARY  STATISTICAL  TABLES 


p  I 

u  z 


u 


O  — 


CO 


M  oo_  M  "^^  o_  t  — .  <^  'C 

O"  r<^  r<^  ri  ^OO"  OO"  —    "^ 
f^  r^  O   O    "t-  —   r^OO   "^ 


U 


t^  onso  rr  r--  ■^  ''^  o  vo 


U 


U 


U 


'•=:  J2 


U 


U 


ir\ 


v^   M    •«•  i/N  rrv  r<  00 

O  -4  a\GO  00  "^  •*  5 

fc  t^  (S   tt  r«  —   M   ■"^ 

rr,  —  rr.00'  O"  "^  t^^" 
O  ^  O  "^  f^OO  "^  '"^ 
—   r<^  -^  iTN  ^         C<   '^ 


pnX  00    —  VO   n   rr\00 


O 


as 

u^ 

rr\ 


O    OnO    r^flOO   OOOVO 
O    vN         "^^    irv  irv  r-~-  M 

OO'oo"  rt>  0~  "^  "^ 


S:2 


Tf—  Orr\—  MNMO 


O  O  O  2J 

00 


o  o  oo 
00 


o 


o  o  - 


0   0"^ 


o 


O  00  00. 
^/^  r~^  3N 

'  o"  "^  o" 
00   •*  - 


->© 


CO 

m 


-  (S  00  o 

OX    rr, 

—  —   rr\ 


o  o 


N    O    O 


2  «i 
■S  .5 

£  2  '-*  «  <" 

'Z  ^  zi  c 

=^  o  S  t 


^  o  ^ 


.2 
"c 

'So 


369 


o 


SUMMARY  STATISTICAL  TABLES 


I 

X 
O 


z 

Qi. 

a: 

H 

D 
O 

u 

I 

H 


Z   C\ 


1^ 
ID 
> 

o 

Q 
Z 
< 

o 

8. 

Li^  ID 
tS   H 

O  S 

S  z 

H   < 


U 

u. 
O 

z 

o 

< 

D 
c 

O 

cu 

LU 

< 

UJ 

a: 
o 
o 
< 

Q 

z 
< 

u 
as 

Z 


< 


Z 

UJ 

I 

D 
O 

WD 
LU 

I 

H 


5- 

C 

.2 

3 

(S   —   fs  oo"  C?  "^  rf  rT  fS 

(N  o  ■^  i^  u^oo  M  C\  r^ 

(S   (r\  pTv  ii>             m  r< 

2" 

x_ 

.a 
u 

m'^'^}-—  N  M  TfirsN 

Non-mountain 
region 

c 
.2 

rt 

3 
C 

•^  O   O  X  >o   "^>C  o 
'0_  \c_  >o_  ■^  t";  —  T  '"^ 
c^  —  n"  x"  a-  "^  —  ri   ! 

X    O    ^  ^'"^  ir\X    "^  ^'^ 
rr  rrv  lr^              rs   r« 

C 

M-^-^-nfSP*-"!-     1 

« 

Total  mountain 
region 

c 

3 

'^000000-<}-N 
Xi^t^O 

ri                             o"  -^  pT 

"^                               X    (^  t^ 

u 

-00000(S-fS 

^ 

1 

E« 
< 

c 
.2 

3 

5" 

O   O   O   O               O   O   r< 

:  :       ^. 

O   O   O   O      •      •   O   O   (N 

« 

Greater  Appa- 
lachian Valley 

c 
.2 

3 

X                           u^  r^  '-' 

^_^        .        .    .  q,x 

N                  ■                  ■         ■      O'    Tf 

rr\                                  X    (^ 

x" 

-    O      •    O      •      •    M    -    O 

■^ 

0) 

to 
■a 

CjCQ 
3 

ca 

c 
_2 

3 
B. 

o  o   ;  o  o  o  o  o   : 

o 

O   O      •   O   O   O    O    O      ■ 

o 

Alabama 
Georgia 
Kentucky 
Maryland 
North  Carolina 
South  Carolina 
Tennessee 
Virginia 
West  Virginia 

O 

H 

370 


SUMMARY  STATISTICAL  TABLES 


<n 

^  \nf*)  o  «  't  f^ 

o 

CO  i/>  r^  n  t^  r^ 

CO 

00  T  COOO  00  O  m 

o 

m  T  COOO  O  CI  O   O  CI 

o 

(N  n  •t  "^  r^oc  Tt 

■T 

O-OO    CO  lA,  -T  C4 

T 

O  r~  o  CO  a,  -  T 

o 

tx>  v:,  ■c  —  mr^'nor^ 

r^ 

_  c  £ 

O  00  r~  -"t  -  f^  N 

00_ 

<;  q  1-^  r^  CO  r^ 

fO 

O    CI    N    O  00  O  00 

m 

CO— drnT-^q-^in 

r^ 

<;_ll 

^•O    '^lOO  ^    t^  ITi 

m' 

ri  ri  ^  M*  o  r* 

o' 

•T  «-'  O  o'  CI  o'  a 

Oi      T  coo  t5. 

o' 

•-'  O'  <>  -'  00*  o"  ci  1*  t-^ 

CI  CO  TOOO  Oi  O  f^  CI 

00 

N  -C  «  O  O*  ^  Ov 

M 

O  -O  «  0>  CO  fi 

CO 

o 

-r 

lo 

CI                  ^    ii 

o 

c                    CO 

1^ 

CO  M  •-        c-        CO  CI  T 

^ 

m 

o«  O  ~  M  t^>o 

1/^  O  CO  ^  ►-  ifl 

CO 

in  oo  O  OvO  ci 

00 

OOOci„nm~;r~ 

^ 

rr  — 

r*3  *N  ■-  r*  lA,  r- 

fn 

o>     ^  c  o  »/^ 

CI 

CI        t^M  m  'OCO 

m 

cicoi^t~_ci-i--o 

11 

in  ic  ^  *-«  ^ 
f<3 

i^ 

M        vO  COOO  t~ 
T       H."  1-5       ►.■ 

oo 

oo_      q  00  t~  -_  in 
■-"        ro  »r       •-*  00* 

CI 

O* 

•-^      qqmTciT'n 

O         CO  O               T  "^   O 

OJ   «! 

CI 

—           m 

00 

«               CI                         o 

c 

u 

cfl 

k. 

O  OO  TOO  O  rn 

M 

O  O  ►-  O  O>00 

00 

I-  O  T  CI  o  CO  -1 

M 

i-i  O  T  O  Too  O  m  O 

o 

c 

3 

1-  r^O  M  1^ 

1^ 

00  o  o  c> 

T 

co       r-oo        —  00 

00 

CO       1^  -O  t~o  00   O  1- 

^ 

0>  t-              r^ 

N 

t^  c*  00  O 

q 

coo       CI  m 

00_ 

CO  T  r-       CI  "50 

q 

n 

ui 

Cl   1-4*  00*  »-* 

fn 

1-5 

T 

-t             I-*  ci"  -i 

*f 

Q 

PI 

11 

O  tn  0"0  m  O.  " 

m 

>0  CO  O  O  OoO 

r^ 

O  O  "-■  O  00  in  CO 

CO 

f^  00  «  OiO  m  r-o  '-' 

ITi 

T-»C   i/>  I^  «  00 

m 

CO  a         N   -H    -O 

o. 

CI      ov  CO  o  T  c^ 

o> 

O  cooomi^in'oco 

»f 

?  y 

»-t  r^  ri  o        fO 

o 

CO  CI       00  T  CO 

m       CO  —  1^  ro  T 

m 

CO  T  COOO  CI  o  m  —  00 

•t 

O     E« 

r>i«        ro 

oo' 

i-i         <M*  cT  «" 

6 

CI            in 

<> 

H5              CI  1-5  »-«   POO  O 

CO 

o'B, 

N- 

Ci 

£W 

cn  «-> 

a>  CO 

<o  O  O  ul  O  f^  O 

T 

coo  O  r»0  " 

T 

O  OO  O  •-  m  O 

00 

mooomO"*-ci 

-C 

Is 

O,             fO       fOoo 

T 

t^  o>     «o  C>  t^ 

O 

•-I  O  in      o  O  r^ 

o 

00  o  m      po      o  00  T 

i/> 

1-                      O  " 

vO 

00  1^      q  CO  •-• 

T 

O  CI  r^      m  M  •-I 

T        N         (>        O" 

m 

CI  O  r-                 c  t»  CO 
O       «                 m"       O 

M    «*■ 

*>4 

CI 

M            HI 

ro 

U  o 

C/3 

c 

r^  O  r^  O  f-fl  00  r^J 

r* 

ft  o  m  o>  -t  r^ 

in 

O  O  mo  T  ►-  <n 

OOmooci— oon 

<^ 

k- 

t        00   0>  Ov  &  t^ 

00 

T       TO.  TT 

r- 

in      o  O  1^  ino 

M 

CO      0~5CNOM^O'-- 

r«. 

CJ 

«-0  i»5i»)  in 

q 

«       r^oo  TO 

q 

t^        M  O  iH   T  CO 

m 

O        i->mOcoTciO 

i>o 

>o                >-<" 

d 

T«  -  « 

d 

CO            O 

— 

•H               T              N   COOO 

O 

3 

'T 

•O    QJ 

O  OOO  O  O  O  o 

00 

O  O  TO  »o  CO 

CI 

O  O  O  mm  Ten 

r- 

o  o  o  t^  o  o  m  oo 

r>- 

<i,   w 

Tt                     0> 

fn 

O        ->  O 

00 

TfOO  CI 

o 

m           POO  CI 

00 

•ti  -^ 

t~ 

00 

CO       q  q 

r^ 

Ov        M   T 

o 

m                  CI  T 

p* 

^'^ 

CO      O*  T 

T 

m 

o* 

m               f^  d 

fi 

^ffi 

CI 

N 

N 

n 

c/:  «-> 

CJ   to 

00  "  O  r~-0  t--  w 

T 

lOO   CM- 00    CO 

N 

TO  ^  m  f^  N  T 

M 

(^  t^  O  T  t^O  m  m  r~ 

r^ 

"c."? 

>0  «        O  u^  ^O 

mo  CI  r^  CI  CO 

OC 

CO      m  CO  CO  CI  oi 

00 

moo  ^^-o  o  m  o  «  CI 

r^ 

iO 

O.       -.  -  •*"! 

'? 

cs  CO  CO  C  0_  "} 

•-■ 

o.      q      o>  TO_ 

o 

ciciqr-5*-Himo  CI 

lO 

w        roc^ 

o> 

w        »-i  l^o  •-' 

00* 

ex           m  r^ 

-T 

Ci  iH*  d  «H  HI       i-T  m  d 

^ 

Q'o 

M                 ►- 

m 

CI                                     M     M     HI 

« 

J    m 

«"  00    C  N   T  -   M 

r^ 

O  O.  "  ro  fn  o 

o 

TO  m  t^  m  T  m 

o 

mi^mr^ci  TOOm 

f*; 

?c 

0>  T  <N  Pi  O  t^  O* 

T 

I/)  —  in  i^  o  t^ 

T 

T  t-i  ^  moo  CO  r^ 

CI 

oor^—  —  piociciT 

•s  § 

■Too   rn  t^  O  t-^  O 

« 

q  T  T  q  q  "5 

N 

^.       ^^  '^  "^  ^ 

O 

mciroinr--o«-i  Tm 

i>} 

O'u 

*0  "^  w  ro 

O 

C^  CI      00  T  01 

C^ 

m      m  »-«  T  1-5  m 

o* 

m  CO  m  CI  o  ^^^  —  oo 

i>^ 

Jr  oj 

N 

T 

N 

T 

>-i                                   N    CI    N 

Oh-" 

*^ 

A. 

00  u^  O  t^  N  00  T 

T 

•-  00  O  c<  CO  c« 

O 

"I  O  T  -OOO  r- 

r- 

OCOT-I^CIOCrOO 

r- 

lo-o  vO  r^  PO  T  in 

t- 

O  c<  »-  o  O  1^ 

\^^  m  ci  —  o.  T 

T 

«-i   ITitri^r^f^^    ro  — 

f*5 

J-  •*-> 

T  T  N  «   T  t^  N 

t^ 

T  t^  COOO   —  \ri 

q 

mO  o  O  i-i  —O 

00 

TOO  o  «-•  "-  TO  m  CI 

IT) 

■«->    C/3 

^:;; 

r— O  m  O  in  O  O 

CO 

Oi  O  «  C4  CO  O 

00* 

T      moo  o  CI  m 

O 

•-  (^  mo  o  CO  f<5  mo 

<> 

s"' 

t-i        lo  CI  «  ro 

T 

O  M        O  T" 

o 

CO        CI         CI  CI   T 

m 

Hicoci  —  mcioom 

O 

" 

CI 

►-» 

N 

" 

O 

> 

H 

V3 

ifl  IT)  ^  u^  ro  "  v^ 

CO 

"^  O,  in  CI  T  V)  m 

"1  t^  T  O  ino  00 
^  CI  o  T  c*  M  t^ 

o 

doo  mTmr^coco 

m 

CI  mTO  mcoci  fooc 

00 

m 

O  O  00  O  vC  N  t- 

CO 

pp;  00  m  T  T  OOO  T 

t^-fOI^dcOCM^ 

m 

O  O  Tcooo  c^ci  CI 

o- 

moc  >o  00  r^oo  rn 

t^ 

o 

o 

00  M  t^  COOO  r^  TO  m 

CV 

C 

T  r^       r^  »-  r^  r^ 

r-^ 

^  r^O        in  "i  t-i 
-^   »  CO       00   N 

o 

P  T        -  1-1  CO  O   CO 

m 

^mT-Mt^-O'nm 
^  moo  t^      OO  ^x  00 

2  ■->                 " 

d 

nj 

w  T       OO  «  T 

O- 

T 

Z   T         t^         N  -iOO 

CO 

r^ 

CQ 

c^ 

Z 

CI 

< 

N 

r* 

< 

J 

o 

X 

Id 

H 

o 

CQ 

J             t  a 

■< 

1                     .2 

u                    .E 

Z                        C3  rt 

Id                C  c 

-:                              CD 

-                   c  c           n) 

"      1^ 

2          ;e 

1-                        £    D            .= 

cE.gS"US.5 

"rt 

"tb 

ijlllii; 

J-S  c  c  i:  E  =f  ?1 

"a 

ilSAHd 

"rt 

0 

"  55  Ef  >■=•=- 
•-■2  o  i;  c  ''"^ 

<  rt  g  rt  g  u  o 

c 

o 
H 

CQ 

o 

< 

H 

371 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 

A  partial  list  of  the  most  important  authorities  consulted  in  the  preparation  of 
this  volume.  The  Russell  Sage  Foundation  Library  has  published  a  briefer  and 
somewhat  more  popular  list  of  books  and  articles  about  the  Southern  Highlands. 

HISTORY 

Alden,  George  H.  New  Governments  West  of  the  Alleghenies  before  1780.  Univ. 
of  Wisconsin  Bulletin,  Historical  Series,  Vol.  2,  No.  1.  p.  1-74.  Madison, 
1897. 

Aler,  F.  Vernon.  History  of  Martinsburg  and  Berkeley  County,  West  Virginia. 
438  p.     Hagerstown,  Md.,  Mail  Publishing  Co.,  1888. 

Allen,  William  B.  A  History  of  Kentucky  embracing  gleanings,  reminiscences, 
antiquities,  natural  curiosities,  statistics,  and  biographical  sketches  of  pioneers, 
soldiers  .  .  .  and  other  leading  men  of  all  occupations  and  pursuits.  449  p. 
Louisville,  Ky.,  Bradley  and  Gilbert,  1872. 

Allison,  John.  Dropped  Stitches  in  Tennessee  History.  152  p.  Nashville,  Tenn., 
Marshall  &  Bruce  Co.,  1897. 

American  Atlas,  The,  or  a  Geographical  description  of  the  whole  continent  of  Amer- 
ica and  chiefly  the  British  Colonies,  composed  from  numerous  surveys.  En- 
graved by  Thomas  Jeffreys.     Philadelphia,  Sayer  and  Bennett,  1778. 

Arthur,  John  Preston.  Western  North  Carolina,  a  history  (from  1730  to  1913). 
710  p.     Raleigh,  N.  C,  Edwards  and  Broughton  Printing  Co.,  1914. 

Asbury,  Francis.  The  Heart  of  Asbury's  Journal.  Edited  by  Ezra  Squier  Tipple. 
New  York,  Eaton  and  Mains,  1901. 

Asbury,  Francis.  The  Journal  of  Rev.  Francis  Asbury,  Bishop  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church,  from  August  7,  1771  to  December  7,  181 5.  3  vols.  New  York, 
Bangs  and  T.  Mason,  1821. 

Ashe,  Samuel  A'Court.  History  of  North  Carolina.  Vol.  I,  1 384-1783.  Greens- 
boro, N.  C,  Chas.  L.  Van  Noppen,  1908. 

Atkinson,  George  Wesley.  History  of  Kanawha  County  from  its  organization 
in  1789  until  the  present  time,  embracing  accounts  of  early  settlements  .  .  . 
also  biographical  sketches  of  a  large  number  of  early  settlers  of  the  Great  Kanawha 
Valley.     338  p.     Charleston,  W.  Va.,  Office  of  the  W.  Va.  Jotimal,  1876. 

Bagenal,  Philip  H.  D.  The  American  Irish  and  their  Influence  on  Irish  Politics. 
236  p.     [Boston,  Roberts,  1882. 

Bancroft,  George.  History  of  the  United  States  from  the  Discovery  of  the  Amer- 
ican Continent.     6  vols.     New  York,  D.  Appleton  and  Co.,  1883-86. 

Bardsley,  Charles  W.  A  Dictionary  of  English  and  Welsh  Surnames  with  special 
American  instances.     837  p.     London,  Frowde,  1901. 

English  Surnames.  Their  sources  and  signification.  612  p.  London,  Chatto  & 
\\  Indus,  1875. 

Baring-Gould,  Sabine.  Family  Names  and  their  Story.  432  p.  Philadelphia, 
Lippincott,  1910. 

375 


THE  SOUTHERN  HIGHLANDER 

Bassett,  John  Spencer.  The  Regulators  of  North  Carolina,  1765-1771.  In 
American  Historical  Association,  Annual  Report  for  1894.  p.  141-212.  Wash- 
ington, 1B95. 

Bernheim,  G.  D.  History  of  the  German  Settlements  and  of  the  Lutheran  Church 
in  North  and  South  Carolina  to  1850.  557  p.  Philadelphia,  Lutheran  Book- 
store, 1872. 

Bickley,  George  W.  D.  History  of  the  Settlement  and  Indian  Wars  of  Taze- 
well County,  Virginia.     267  p.     Cincinnati,  Ohio,  Morgan  and  Co.,  1852. 

Bittinger,  Lucy  F.  The  Germans  in  Colonial  Times.  314  P-  Philadelphia,  Lip- 
pincott,  1901. 

Bolton,  Charles  K.  Scotch-Irish  Pioneers  in  Ulster  and  America.  398  p.  Bos- 
ton, Bacon  and  Brown,  1910. 

Brackinridge,  Henry  M.  History  of  the  Western  Insurrection  in  Western  Penn- 
sylvania, commonly  called  the  Whiskey  Insurrection,  1794.  p.  336.  Pittsburgh, 
W.  S.  Haven,  1859. 

Brewer,  W.  Alabama;  Her  History,  Resources,  War  Record,  and  Public  Men, 
from  1 540  to  1872.     712  p.     Montgomery,  Ala.,  Barrett  and  Brown,  1872. 

Brown,  John  Mason.  The  Political  Beginnings  of  Kentucky.  263  p.  (Filson 
Club  Publication  No.  6.)     Louisville,  Ky.,  John  P.  Morton  Co.,  1889. 

Bruce,  H.  Addington  B.  Daniel  Boone  and  the  Wilderness  Road.  349  p.  New 
York,  The  Macmillan  Company,  1910. 

Buchanan,  William.  An  Inquiry  into  the  Genealogy  and  Present  State  of  Ancient 
Scottish  Surnames;  with  the  origin  and  descent  of  the  Highland  clans  and  family 
of  Buchanan.     310  p.     Glasgow,  Wylie,  1820. 

Burk,  John  Daly.  The  History  of  Virginia  from  its  First  Settlement  to  the  Pres- 
ent Day.  (1781)  4  vols.     Petersburg,  Va.,  Dickson  &  Pescud,  1804-16. 

Burnaby,  Andrew.  Travels  through  the  Middle  Settlements  of  North  America 
in  the  Years  1759  and  1760;  with  observations  upon  the  state  of  the  colonies. 
Reprinted  from  the  3rd  edition  of  1798.    263  p.    New  York,  A.  Wessels  Co.,  1904. 

Byrd,  William.  The  Writings  of  Colonel  William  Byrd  of  Westover  in  Virginia, 
Esquire.     Edited  by  J.  S.  Bassett.     461  p.     New  York,  Doubleday,  Page  and 

Co.,  1901. 
Caldwell,  Joshua  W.   Studies  in  the  Constitutional  History  of  Tennessee.    183  p. 

Cincinnati,  R.  Clarke  &  Co.,  1895. 
Carroll,  H.  K.   The  Religious  Forces  of  the  United  States,  Enumerated,  Classified, 

and  Described.    488  p.     New  York,  Chas.  Scribner's  Sons,  1912. 
Chadwick,  French  E.   The  Causes  of  the  Civil  War,  1859-1861.     The  American 

Nation:   A  History,  Vol.  XIX.     372  p.     New  York,  Harper  and  Bros.,  1906. 
Cobb,  Sanford  H.   The  Story  of  the  Palatines,  An  Episode  in  Colonial  History. 

319  p.     New  York,  G.  Putnam's  Sons,  1897. 
Cole,  Arthur  Charles.    The   Whig   Party  in   the    South.     392   p.     Washington, 

American  Historical  Association,  1913. 
Collins,  Lewis.    History  of  Kentucky.     2  vols.     Covington,  Ky.,  Collins,  1874. 
Commons,  John  R.    Races  and  Immigrants  in  America.     242  p.     New  York,  The 

Macmillan  Company,  1907. 

376 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Cooke,  John  Esten.  Virginia;  A  History  of  the  People.  523  P-  Boston,  Hough- 
ton, Mifflin,  and  Co.,  18S3. 

Craighead,  James  Geddes.  Scotch  and  Irish  Seeds  in  American  Soil;  the  early 
history  of  the  Scotch  and  Irish  Churches  and  their  relations  to  the  Presbyterian 
Church  of  America.  348  p.  Philadelphia,  Presbyterian  Board  of  Publication, 
1878. 

Crevecoeur,  Michel,  G.  St.  J.  de  (Pseud.  J.  Hector  St.  John  Crevecoeur).  Let- 
ters  from  an  American  Farmer;  describing  certain  provincial  situations,  manners, 
and  customs,  etc.     355  p.     New  York,  Fox,  Duffield,  and  Co.,  1904. 

Cuming,  Fortesque.  Sketches  of  a  Tour  to  the  Western  Country  through  the 
States  of  Ohio  and  Kentucky;  a  voyage  down  the  Ohio  and  Mississippi  Rivers, 
and  a  Trip  through  the  Mississippi  Territory  and  part  of  West  Florida,  com- 
menced at  Philadelphia  in  the  winter  of  1807,  and  concluded  in  1809.  504  p. 
Pittsburgh,  Cramer,  Spear,  and  Eichbarn,  1810. 

Davidson,  Robert.  History  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  the  State  of  Ken- 
tucky.    New  York,  1847. 

De  Hass,  Wilis.  History  of  the  Early  Settlement  and  Indian  Wars  of  Western 
Virginia;  embracing  an  account  of  ....  expeditions  in  the  west  previous 
to  1795,  etc.     416  p.     Wheeling,  W.  Va.,  H.  Hoblitzell,  185 1. 

Denny,  Ebenezer.  Military  Journal  of  Major  Ebenezer  Denny,  an  officer  in  the 
Revolutionary  and  Indian  Wars.  Historical  Society  of  Pennsylvania,  Memoirs. 
Vol.  VI 1,  p.  205-492.     Philadelphia,  i860. 

Dinsmore,  John  Walker.  The  Scotch- Irish  in  America;  their  history,  traits, 
institutions,  and  influence,  especially  as  illustrated  in  the  early  settlements  of 
western  Pennsylvania,  and  their  descendants.  257  p.  Chicago,  Winona  Pub- 
lishing Co.,  1906. 

Doddridge,  Joseph.  Notes  on  the  Settlement  and  Indian  Wars  of  the  Western 
Parts  of  Virginia  and  Pennsylvania,  from  1763  until  1783.  316  p.  Wellsburgh, 
Va.,  Printed  for  the  Author,  1824. 

Doyle,  John  Andrew.  The  English  Colonies  in  America.  5  vols.  New  York, 
Henry  Holt  and  Co.,  1882. 

Draper,  Lyman  Copeland.  King's  Mountain  and  its  Heroes.  612  p.  Cincin- 
nati, P.  G.  Thompson,  1881. 

Dunbar,  Seymour.  A  History  of  Travel  in  America;  showing  the  development 
of  travel  and  transportation  from  the  crude  methods  of  the  canoe  and  the  dog- 
sled  to  the  highly  organized  railway  systems  of  the  present,  etc.  4  vols.  Indian- 
apolis, The  Bobbs-Merrill  Company,  1915. 

Eckenrode,  H.  J.  Separation  of  Church  and  State  in  Virginia;  a  study  in  the 
development  of  the  Revolution.  Special  Report  of  the  Department  of  .Archives  and 
History.     164  p.     Richmond,  Va.,  Davis  Bottom,  Supt.  of  Public  Printing,     1910. 

Ely,  William.  The  Big  Sandy  Valley;  a  history  of  the  people  and  country  from 
the  earliest  settlement  to  the  present  time.  500  p.  Catlettsburg,  Ky.,  Central 
Methodist,  1887. 

Fairchild,  Hemy  Pratt.  Immigration:  A  World  Movement,  and  its  .-Xmerican 
Significance.     455  p.     New  ^ork.  The  Macmillan  Company,  1913. 

377 


THE  SOUTHERN  HIGHLANDER 

Farrand,  Livingston.  The  Basis  of  American  History,  1 500-1900.  The  Ameri- 
can Nation:   A  History,  Vol.  II.     303  p.     New  York,  Harper  and  Bros.,  1906. 

Faust,  Albert  Bernhardt.  The  German  Element  in  the  United  States;  with 
special  reference  to  its  political,  moral,  social,  and  educational  influence.  2  vols. 
Boston,  Houghton,  Mifflin  and  Co.,  1909. 

Filson,  John.  The  Discovery,  Settlement,  and  Present  State  of  Kentucky.  See 
Imlay,  Gilbert:  A  Topographical  Description,  etc.  p.  269-415.  London,  De- 
brett,  1793. 

Fiske,  John.   Old  Virginia  and  herneighbors.     2  vols.     Boston,  Houghton,  Mifflin 

and  Co.,  1897. 
Fleming,  "Walter  L.   Civil  War  and    Reconstruction  in  Alabama.     815   p.     New 

York,  Columbia  University  Press,  1903. 
Foote,  William  Henry.   The  Huguenots,  or    Reformed  French  Church.     27  p. 

Richmond,  Presbyterian  Committee  of  Publication,  1870. 

Sketches  of  North  Carolina;   historical   and   biographical,  illustrative  of  the 

principles  of  a  portion  of  her  early  settlers.     557  p.    New  York,  Carter,  1846. 

Sketches  of  Virginia ;  historical  and  biographical.    2  vols.    Philadelphia,  Martien, 

1851. 

Ford,  Henry  Jones.   The  Scotch-Irish  in  America.  607   p.      Princeton,   N.   J., 

Princeton  University  Press,  191  3. 
Fosdick,  Lucian  J.   The  French  Blood  in  America.    448  p.     New  York,  Revell 

Co.,  1906. 
Garrison,  George  P.   Westward  Extension,  1841-1850.  In  The  American  Nation, 

a  History,  Vol.  XVII.     366  p.     New  York,  Harper  and  Bros.,  1906. 
Gilmore,  James  R.   The  Rearguard  of  the  Revolution,  by  Edmond  Kirke,  pseud. 

317  p.     New  York.  D.  Appleton  and  Co.,  1886. 
Gist,  Christopher.   Journals,  with  notes  and   biographies  of  his  contemporaries. 

Edited  by  William  H.  Darlington.     296  p.     Pittsburgh,  Weldin,  1893. 
Graham,  George  W.   The  Mecklenburg  Declaration  of   Independence,  May  20, 

1775;   and  lives  of  its  signers.     203  p.     New  York,  The  Neale  Publishing  Co., 

1905. 
Green,  Thomas  Marshall.    Historic  families  of  Kentucky;  with  special  reference 

to  stocks  immediately  derived  from  the  Valley  of  Virginia.     Series  I.     Cincin- 
nati, R.  Clarke,  1889. 
Hale,  John  Parker.    Trans- Allegheny    Pioneers;    historical  sketches  of  the  first 

white  settlements  west  of  the  Alleghenies,  1748-and  after.     330  p.     Cincinnati, 

the  Graphic  Press,  1886. 
Hamilton,  Alexander.    The  Works  of  Alexander  Hamilton.     Edited  by  Henry 

Cabot  Lodge.     9  vols.     New  York,  G.  Putnam's  Sons,  1883-86. 
Hanna,  Charles  A.   The  Scotch-Irish,  or  the  Scot  in  North  Britain,  Ireland,  and 

America.     2  vols.     New  York,  G.  Putnam's  Sons,  1902. 
Hawks,  Francis  Lister.    A  Narrative  of  Events  Connected  with  the  Rise  and 

Progress  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  in  Virginia.     286  p.     New  York, 

Harper  and  Bros.,  1836. 
Haywood,  John.   Civil  and  Political  History  of  the  State  of  Tennessee;  from  its 

378 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 

earliest  settlement  up  to  the  year  1796,  including  the  boundaries  of  the  state. 
Knoxville,   ienn.     =504  p.     Heiskell  and  Brown,  1823. 
Henderson,  Archibald.   The  Conquest  of  the  Old  Southwest;  the  romantic  story 
of  the  early  pioneers  into  Virginia,  the  Carolinas,  Tennessee,  and   Kentucky. 
1740-1790.     395  p.     New  York,  The  Century  Co.,  1920. 
The  Creative  Forces  in  Westward   Expansion.      Henderson  and   Boone.      In 
American  Historical  Review.  XX:  86-107.     October,  1914. 
Hewatt,  Alexander.    Historical  Account  of  the  Rise  and  Progress  of  the  Colonies 
of  South  Carolina   and  Georgia.     2  vols.     London,   Printed  for  A.  Donaldson, 

1779- 

Holditch,  Robert,  Esq.  Observations  on  Emigration  to  British  America  and  the 
United  States;  for  the  use  of  persons  about  to  emigrate.  100  p.  London,  Ply- 
mouth Dock,  the  Author,  1818. 

Hosmer,  James  K.  Short  History  of  the  Mississippi  Valley.  230  p.  Boston, 
Houghton,  Mifflin  and  Co.,  1901. 

Howe,  Henry.  Historical  Collections  of  Virginia.  544  p.  Charleston,  S.  C, 
Babcock  &  Co.,  1852. 

Howell,  Robert  Boyle  C.  The  Early  Baptists  of  Virginia.  125  p.  Philadelphia, 
American  Baptist  Publication  Society,  1857. 

Hulbert,  Archer  Butler.  Boone's  Wilderness  Road.  In  Historic  Highways  of 
America,  Vol.  \T.     207  p.     Cleveland,  Arthur  H.  Clark,  1903. 

Braddock's  Road,  and  Three  Relative  Papers,    in  Historic  Highways  of  America, 

Vol.  IV.     213  p.    Cleveland,  Arthur  H.  Clark,  1903. 
The  Cumberland  Road.     In  Historic  Highways  of  America,  Vol.  X.     208  p. 

Cleveland,  Arthur  H.  Clark,  1904. 
The  Ohio  River,  a  Course  of  Empire,  378  p.     New  York,  G.  Putnam's  Sons. 
1906. 

Htinter,  C.  L.  Sketches  of  Western  North  Carolina;  historical  and  biographical, 
illustrating  principally  the  Revolutionary  Period  of  Mecklenburg,  Rowan,  Lin- 
coln, and  adjoining  counties,  etc.  357  p.  Raleigh,  the  Raleigh  News  Steam  Job 
Print,  1877. 

Imlay,  Gilbert.  A  Topographical  Description  of  the  Western  Territory  of  North 
America;  containing  a  succinct  account  of  its  climate,  natural  history,  popula- 
tion, agriculture,  manners,  and  customs,  with  an  ample  description  of  the  several 
divisions  into  which  that  country  is  divided,  and  an  accurate  statement  of  the 
various  tribes  of  Indians  that  inhabit  the  frontier  country.  Annexed,  a  delinea- 
tion of  the  laws  and  government  of  the  state  of  Kentucky.  Includes  also.  Dis- 
covery and  settlement  of  the  present  state  of  Kentucky,  by  John  Filson;  The 
Adventures  of  Daniel  Boone;  Minutes  of  the  Piankashaw  council;  An  account 
of  the  Indian  Nations.     London,  Debrett,  1793. 

Jeflferson,  Thomas.  Autobiography.  1743-1790.  162  p.  New  York,  G.  Put- 
nam's Sons,  1914. 

Johnson,  Joseph.  Traditions  and  Reminiscences  of  the  American  Revolution  in 
the  South.     592  p.     Charleston,  S.  C,  Walker  and  James,  1851, 

Johnston,  David  E.    History  of  the  Middle  New    River   Settlements  and  con- 

26  379 


THE  SOUTHERN  HIGHLANDER 

tiguous  Territory,  1654- 1753.     500  p.     Huntington,  W.  Va.,  Standard  Printing 
and  Publishing  Co.,  1906. 

Jones,  Charles  Colcock,  Jr.  History  of  Georgia.  2  vols.  Boston,  Houghton, 
Mifflin  and  Co.,  1883. 

Kemper,  Charles  E.  The  Early  Westward  Moi'ement  of  Viginia,  1722-1734, 
as  shown  by  the  proceedings  of  the  Colonial  Council.  In  Virginia  Magazine  of 
History  and  Biography,  X\\:   337;   XHl:    1,113,281,351.     1905-1906. 

Kercheval,  Samuel.  History  of  the  Valley  of  Virginia.  486  p.  Winchester,  Va. 
Davis,  1833. 

Euhns,  Levi  Oscar.   The  German  and  Swiss  Settlements  of  Colonial    Pennsyl- 
vania; a  study  of  the  so-called  Pennsylvania  Dutch.     268  p.     New  York,  Henry 
Holt  and  Co.,  1901. 
Studies  in  Pennsylvania  German  Family  Names,      in  Americana  Germanica, 
Vol.  IV,  p.  299-341.     New  York,  1902. 

Lang,  Theodore  F.  Loyal  West  Virginia  from  1861-1865;  with  an  introductory 
chapter  on  the  status  of  Virginia  for  thirty  years  prior  to  the  war.  382  p.  Balti- 
more, Deutsch,  1895. 

Lederer,  John.  The  Discoveries  of  John  Lederer;  in  three  several  marches  from 
Virginia  over  the  mountains,  made  March  1669  to  September  1670.  27  p.  Lon- 
don, Printed  by  J.  C.  for  Samuel  Heyrick,  1672. 

Lewis,  Virgil  A.  History  of  West  Virginia.  744  p.  Philadelphia.  Hubbard 
Bros.,  1889. 

Lodge,  Henry  Cabot.  The  Distribution  of  Ability  in  the  United  States.  Century 
Magazine,  XX:   687-694.     September,  1891. 

Logan,  John  H.  History  of  Upper  South  Carolina;  from  the  earliest  periods  to 
the  close  of  the  war  of  Independence.  521  p.  Charleston,  S.  C,  S.  G.  Courte- 
nay,  1859. 

MacAfee,  Robert  B.  History  of  the  Late  War  in  the  Western  Country;  com- 
prising a  full  account  of  all  the  transactions  in  that  quarter,  from  the  commence- 
ment of  hostilities  at  Tippecanoe  to  the  termination  of  the  contest  at  New  Or- 
leans.    534  p.     Lexington,  Ky.,  K.  Worsley  &  Smith,  1816. 

MacAllister,  W.  A.  Pioneer  Days  in  Alleghany  County.  In  Virginia  Magazine 
of  History  and  Biography,  X:    183. 

MacDonald,  William.  Jacksonian  Democracy,  1829-1837.  345  p.  in  the  Amer- 
ican Nation:   A  History,  Vol.  XV.     New  York,  Harper,  1906. 

MacLean,  J.  P.  An  Historical  Account  of  the  Settlements  of  Scotch  Highlanders 
in  America  prior  to  the  Peace  of  1783,  etc.  459  p.  Cleveland,  Helman-Taylor 
&  Co.,  1900. 

McCrady,  Edward,  Jr.  The  History  of  South  Carolina.  4  vols.  New  York,  The 
Macmillan  Company,  1897-1902. 

McGee, Thomas  D'Arcy.  A  History  of  the  Irish  Settlers  in  North  America,  from  the 
Earliest  Period  to  the  Census  of  1850.     240  p.     Boston,  Patrick  Donahoe,  1855. 

Mcllwaine,  Henry  R.  The  Struggle  of  Protestant  Dissenters  for  Religious  Tolera- 
tion in  Virginia.  67  p.  Johns  Hopkins  University  Studies  in  Historical  and 
Political  Science,  12th  Series,  No.  4.     Baltimore,  April,  1894. 

380 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Maguire,  John  F.  The  Irish  in  America.  653  p.  London,  Longmans,  Green 
and  Co.,  1868. 

Masters,  Victor  I.  Baptist  Missions  in  the  South:  A  Century  of  the  Saving  Im- 
pact of  a  Great  Spiritual  Body  on  Society  in  the  Southern  States.  Publicity 
Dept.  of  the  Home  Mission  Board  of  the  Southern  Baptist  Convention,  1915. 

Mathews,  Lois  Kimball.  The  Expansion  of  New  England,  the  Spread  of  New 
England  Settlement  and  Institutions  to  the  Mississippi  River,  1620-1865.  3^3  P- 
Boston,  Houghton,  Mifflin  and  Co.,  1909. 

Meade,  William.  Old  Churches,  Ministers  and  Families  of  Virginia.  2  vols., 
Philadelphia,  Lippincott,  1857. 

Michaiuc,  Andre.  Travels  into  Kentucky,  1793- 1796.  In  Thwaites:  Early 
Western  Travels,  Vol.  Ill,  p.  25-104.     Cleveland,  Arthur  H.  Clark,  1904. 

Mills,  Robert  Statistics  of  South  Carolina,  p.  47-49,  in  O'Neall,  John  Belton: 
Annals  of  Newberry,  historical,  biographical  and  anecdotical.  413  p.  Charles- 
ton, S.  C,  S.  G.  Courtenay  &  Co.,  1859. 

Mitchell,  John.  A  Map  of  the  British  and  French  Dominions  in  North  America, 
with  the  Roads,  Distances,  Limits,  and  Extent  of  Settlements.  February  13, 
1755.     London,  Jeffreys  &  Faden. 

Moore,  John  W.  History  of  North  Carolina  from  the  Earliest  Discoveries  to  the 
Present  Time.     2  vols.     Raleigh,  A.  Williams  Co.,  1880. 

Moravian  Diaries  of  Travels  through  Virginia.  Edited  by  William  J.  Hinke  and 
Charles  E.  Kemper.  In  Virginia  Magazine  of  History  and  Biography.  Vols.  XI, 
XI 1.     1903-04. 

Newman,  Albert  H.  A  History  of  the  Baptist  Churches  in  the  United  States. 
513  p.     New  York,  Christian  Literature  Co.,  1894. 

North  Carolina,  General  Assembly.  Colonial  Records  of  North  Carolina.  Col- 
lected and  edited  by  William  L.  Saunders.  10  vols.  Raleigh,  P.  M.  Hale, 
printer  to  the  state,  1886-90. 

Perry,  William  Stevens.  Historical  Sketch  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  in 
the  United  States  of  America.  1784-1884.  22  p.  New  York,  Whitaker,  1884. 
The  Influence  of  the  Clergy  in  the  War  of  the  Revolution.  7  p.  New  York, 
1891. 

Peyton,  John  Lewis.  History  of  Augusta  County,  Virginia.  387  p.  Staunton, 
Va.,  Yost,  1882. 

Pickett,  Albert  J.  History  of  Alabama  and  Incidentally  of  Georgia  and  Missis- 
sippi from  the  Earliest  Period.  2  vols.  Charleston,  S.  C,  Walker  and  James, 
1851. 

Pooley,  William  Vipond.  The  Settlement  of  Illinois  from  1830  to  1850.  Uni- 
versity of  Wisconsin,  Bulletin  No.  220,  Historical  Series,  Vol.  I,  No.  4.  Madison, 
Wis.,  May,  1908. 

Pope,  John.  A  Tour  through  Southern  and  Western  Territories  of  the  United 
States  of  North  America;  the  Spanish  Dominions  on  the  river  Mississippi  and 
the  Floridas;  the  countries  of  the  Creek  Nations,  and  many  uninhabited  parts. 
104  p.  Richmond,  printed  by  John  Dixon  for  the  author,  1792.  Reprinted, 
New  York,  Woodward,  1888. 

381 


THE  SOUTHERN  HIGHLANDER 

Price,  R.  N.  Holston  Methodism;  from  its  origin  to  the  present  time.  Pub- 
lishing House  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  South.  4  vols.  Smith  & 
Lamar,  Agents,  Nashville,  Tenn.,  1904. 

Ramsay,  David.  History  of  South  Carolina  from  its  First  Settlement  in  1670 
to  the  year  1808.     2  vols.     Charleston,  David  Longworth,  1809. 

Ramsey,  James  G.  M.  Annals  of  Tennessee  to  the  End  of  the  Eighteenth  Cen- 
tury.    744  p.     Charleston,  Russell,  1853. 

Ranck,  George  W.  Boonesborough,  Its  Founding,  Pioneer  Struggles,  Indian  Ex- 
periences,  Transylvania  days,  and  Revolutionary  Annals.  286  p.  (Filson  Club 
Publication  No.  16.)     Louisville,  John  P.  Morton  &  Co.,  1901. 

Redd,  John.  Reminiscences  of  Western  Virginia,  1770-1790.  Edited  by  Lyman 
C.  Draper.  In  the  Virginia  Magazine  of  History  and  Biography,  VI:  337;  VII: 
I,  113,  242,  401. 

Robertson,  James  Rood.  Petitions  of  the  Early  Inhabitants  of  Kentucky  to  the 
General  Assembly  of  Virginia,  1769-1792.  246  p.  (Filson  Club  Publication  No. 
27.)     Louisville,  Ky.,  John  P.  Morton  &  Co.,  1914. 

Roosevelt,  Theodore.  The  Winning  of  the  West.  6  vols.  New  York,  G.  Put- 
nam's Sons,  1900. 

Ross,  Peter.   The  Scot  in  America.    446  p.     New  York,  Raeburn  Book  Co.,  1896. 

Rule,  William,  and  Gen.  F.  Mellen  and  John  Woolridge,  collaborators.  History 
of  Knoxville,  Tennessee;  with  full  outline  of  the  natural  advantages,  early  settle- 
ment, territorial  government,  etc.  590  p.  Chicago,  Lewis  Publishing  Co., 
1900. 

Rupp,  I.  Daniel.  A  Collection  of  Upwards  of  Thirty  Thousand  Names  of  Ger- 
man, Swiss,  Dutch,  French,  and  other  Immigrants  in  Pennsylvania,  from  1727 
to  1776.    495  p.     Philadelphia,  Kohler,  1876. 

Salley,  Alexander  S.  History  of  Orangeburg  County,  South  Carolina;  from  its 
first  settlement  to  the  close  of  the  Revolutionary  War.  572  p.  Orangeburg, 
S.  C.  Berry,  1898. 

Savage,  William.  Observations  on  Emigration  to  the  United  States,  illustrated 
by  original  facts.     66  p.     London,  Sherwood,  Neely  and  Jones,  1819. 

Schenk,  David.  North  Carolina,  1780-S1 ;  being  a  history  of  the  invasion  of  the 
Carolinas  by  the  British  Army  under  Lord  Cornwallis  in  1780-81.  498  p.  Ra- 
leigh, Edwards  &  Broughton,  1889. 

Schuricht,  Hermann.  History  of  the  German  Element  in  Virginia.  2  vols. 
Baltimore,  Kroh,  1898,  1900. 

Scotch-Irish  Society  of  America.  The  Scotch-Irish  in  America.  Proceedings  of 
the  I st-8th  Congress.     1889-96.     8  vols.     Cincinnati,  R.  Clarke  &  Co. 

Searight,  Thomas  B.  The  Old  Pike;  a  history  of  the  national  road,  with  inci- 
dents, accidents,  and  anecdotes  thereon.  384  p.  Uniontown,  Pa.,  the  Author, 
1894. 

Semple,  Robert  B.  History  of  the  Rise  and  Progress  of  the  Baptists  in  Virginia. 
446  p.     Richmond,  the  Author,  18 10. 

Shaler,  Nathaniel  S.  Kentucky,  a  Pioneer  Commonwealth.  433  p.  Boston, 
Houghton,  Mifflin  and  Co.,  1895. 

382 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Smith,  George  G.    The  Story  of  Georgia  and  the  Georgia  People,  1732  to  i860. 

664  p.     jMacon,  Ga.,  Smith,  1900. 
Smyth-Stuart,  John  F.  D.     A  Tour  in  the  United  States  of  America.     2  vols. 

London,  Robinson,  1784. 
Speed,  Thomas.    The  Wilderness  Road;   a  description  of  the  routes  of  travel  by 
which  the  pioneers  and  early  settlers  first  came  to  Kentucky.     75  p.     (Filson 
Club  Publication  No.  2.)     Louisville,  Ky.    John  P.  Morton  &  Co.,  1886. 
Summers,   Lewis   P.     History  of   Southwestern   Virginia,    1746-1786.     921    p. 

Richmond,  Va.,  J.  L.  Hill  Printing  Co.,  1903. 
Thom,  William  Taylor.    The  Struggle  for  Religious  Freedom  in  Virginia:    The 
Baptists.    96  p.     Johns  Hopkins  University  Studies  in  Historical  and  Political 
Science.     Series  18,  nos.  10-12.     Baltimore,  1900. 
Thwaites,  Reuben  Gold.    The  Colonies,  1492-1750.     30"  P-     New  York,  Long- 
mans, Green  &  Co.,  1891. 

Daniel  Boone.     257  p.     New  York,  D.  Appleton  and  Co.,  1902. 
Trent,  William.    Journal  of  Captain  William  Trent  from  Logstown  to  Picka- 

willany,  A.D.  1752.     117  p.     Cincinnati,  R.Clarke,  1871. 
Turner,  Francis  M.    Life  of  General  John  Sevier.     226  p.     New  York.  Neale 

Publishing  Co.,  1910. 
Turner,  Frederick  Jackson.    The  Old  West.     In  proceedings  of  the  State  His- 
torical Society  of  Wisconsin  at  its  56th  Annual  Meeting,  October   15,   1908. 
Madison,  Wis.,  1909. 
The  Rise  of  the  New  West,  1819-1829.     366  p.     In  The  American  Nation: 

A  History,  Vol.  XIV.     New  York,  Harper  Bros.,  1906. 
The  Significance  of  the  Frontier  in  .American  History.    Madison.     In  Ameri- 
can Historical  Association,  Annual  Report,  1893.     p.  199-227. 
Western  State  Making  in  the  Revolutionary  Era.    In  the  American  Historical 
Review,  1:  70-87,251-269. 
United  States.     Senate  Papers,  23rd  Congress.     Pension  Lists  of  1834. 

Bureau  of  Ethnology:    Fifth  Annual  Report  to  the  Secretary  of  the  Smith- 
sonian Institution,  1883-S4,  J.  W.  Powell,  Director.    Washington,  Govern- 
ment, 1887. 
Verhoeff,  Mary.    The    Kentucky    Mountains,    Transportation   and   Commerce, 
1750-1911;  a  study  in  the  Economic  History  of  a  Coal  Field.     (Filson  Club  Pub- 
lication No.  26.)     Louisville,  Ky.,  John  P.  Morton  &  Co.,  191 1. 

The  Kentucky  River  Navigation.     257  p.     (Filson  Club  Publication  No.  28.) 
Louisville,  Ky.,  John  P.  Morton  &  Co..  1917. 
Waddell,  Joseph  A.    Annals  of  Augusta  County.  Virginia;    with  reminiscences 
illustrative  of  the  vicissitudes  of  its  pioneer  settlers;    biographical  sketches  of 
citizens  locally  prominent,  and  of  those  who  have  founded  families  in  the  south 
and  western  states,  a  Diary  of  the  War,  1861-5.  and  a  Chapter  on  Reconstruc- 
tion.    374  p.     Richmond.  Va..  Jones.  1886. 
Walker,  Thomas,   Journal  of  an  Exploration  in  the  spring  of  1750.     69  p.     Bos- 
ton, Little,  Brown  ik  Co.,  1888. 
Warfield,  Ethelbert  D.    The  Constitutional  Aspect  of  Kentucky's  Struggle  for 

383 


THE  SOUTHERN  HIGHLANDER 

Autonomy,   1784-1792.     In  American  Historical  Association  Papers,  Vol.  IV, 
p.  347-365.     October,    1890. 

Wayland,  John  Walter.  The  Germans  of  the  Valley.  In  Virginia  Magazine  of 
History  and  Biography,  \X:  337;   X:  33,  113. 

Weeks,  Stephen  B.  Church  and  State  in  North  Carolina.  In  Johns  Hopkins 
University  Studies  in  Historical  and  Political  Science.  Series  II,  Nos.  5,  6. 
May,  June,  1893. 

Weeks,  Stephen  Beauregard.  General  Joseph  Martin  and  the  War  of  the  Revo- 
lution in  the  West.  In  American  Historical  Association,  Annual  Report  for 
1893.     p.  401-477.     Washington,  1894. 

Weiss,  Charles.  History  of  the  French  Protestant  Refugees  from  the  Revocation 
of  the  Edict  of  Nantes  to  Our  Own  Days.  2  vols.  New  York,  Stringer  &  Town- 
send,  1854. 

Wheeler,  John  H.  Historical  Sketches  of  North  Carolina  from  1 584-1851.  2 
vols,  in  one.     Philadelphia,  Lippincott,  Grambo  &  Co.,  185 1 

Williamson,  Hugh.  History  of  North  Carolina.  2  vols.  Philadelphia,  Thomas 
Dobson,  1812. 

Winsor,  Justin.  The  Westward  Movement.  595 p.  Boston,  Houghton,  Mifflin 
and  Co.,  1897. 

Wise,  John  Sargent.  The  End  of  an  Era.  474  p.  Boston,  Houghton,  Mifflin 
and  Co.,  1899. 

Withers,  Alexander  Scott.  Chronicles  of  Border  Warfare,  or  History  of  Settle- 
ment by  the  Whites  of  Northwestern  Virginia,  and  of  the  Indian  Wars  and  Mas- 
sacres.   447  p.     Edited  by  R.  G.  Thwaites.     Cincinnati,  R.  Clarke,  1895. 

STATISTICS 

Reports  of  the  State  Boards  of  Health  for  the  Year  1916,  for  Kentucky,  Maryland, 

North  Carolina,  South  Carolina,  Tennessee,  and  Virginia. 
United  States  Census  Bureau.     A  Century  of  Population  Growth;  from  the  First 
Census  of  the  United  States  to  the  Twelfth,  1790  to  1900.     Washington,  Govern- 
ment, 1909. 

Heads  of  Families  at  the  First  Census  of  the  United  States;  taken  in  the  year 
1790:  North  Carolina,  South  Carolina,  Virginia  (record  of  state  enumera- 
tions, 1782-85),  Pennsylvania.     Washington,  Government,  1908. 
Mortality  in  1916.     Washington,  Government,  1918. 

Religious  Bodies.    1906.    Part  II,  Separate  Denominations,  History,  Descrip- 
tion, and  Statistics.     Washington,  Government,  1910. 
Thirteenth  Census  of  the  United  States;  taken  in  the  year  1910.    Washington, 

Government,  1912-14. 
Twelfth  Census  of  the  United  States;  taken  in  the  year  1900.     Washington, 
Government,  1901-02. 

HEALTH 
Bradley,  Frances  S.,  and  Williamson,  M.  A.     Rural  Children  in  Selected  Counties 
of  North  Carolina.     United  States  Children's  Bureau,  Publication  No.  33,  19 18. 

384 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Child  Welfare  in  North  Carolina;  an  inquiry  by  the  National  Child  Labor  Com- 
mittee for  the  North  Carolina  Conference  for  Social  Service.  New  York,  Na- 
tional Child  Labor  Committee,  1918. 

Goldberger,  Joseph,  and  Wheeler,  G.  A.  Experimental  Pellagra  in  the  Human 
Subject  Brought  About  by  a  Restricted  Diet.  Reprint  No.  311  from  the  Public 
Health  Reports,  U.  S.  Public  Health  Service,  Washington,  Government,  1915. 

Hills,  J.  L.,  Wait,  C.  E.,  and  White,  H.  C.  Dietary  Studies  in  Rural  Regions, 
in  Vermont,  Tennessee,  and  Georgia.  U.  S.  Department  of  Agriculture,  Office 
of  Experiment  Stations,  Bulletin  No.  221,  1909. 

McMullen,  John.    Trachoma;   a  disease  of  equal  importance  to  the  ophthalmolo- 
gist and  public  health  officer  and  what  the  government  is  doing  to  eradicate  and 
prevent  its  further  spread.     Reprint  horn  Southern  Medical  Journal:  X:  130-133. 
February,  1917. 
Trachoma;  a  survey  of  its  prevalence  in  the  mountain  section  of  eastern  Ken- 
tucky.    U.  S.  Public  Health  Service  Reports,  Reprint  No.  263,  191 5. 

Rockefeller  Sanitary  Commission  for  the  Eradication  of  Hookworm  Disease.  An- 
nual Reports,  1910-14. 

Scientific  Memoirs  by  Officers  of  the  Medical  and  Sanitary  Departments  of  the 
Government  of  India.     (1908.)     Calcutta,  India. 

Wait,  Charles  E.    Dietary  Studies  at  the  University  of  Tennessee  in  1895.     U.  S. 
Department  of  Agriculture,  Bulletin  No.  29,  1896. 
Nutrition   Investigations  at  the  University  of  Tennessee  in  1896  and  1897. 
U.  S.  Department  of  Agriculture,  Bulletin  No.  53,  1898. 


TOPOGRAPHY  AND  RESOURCES 

Arnold,  J.  H.  Ways  of  Making  Southern  Mountain  Farms  More  Productive. 
U.  S.  Department  of  Agriculture,  Farmers'  Bulletin  No.  905,  1918. 

Ayres,  H.  B.,  and  .Ashe,  W.  W.  The  Southern  Appalachian  Forests.  Depart- 
ment of  the  Interior,  U.  S.  Geological  Survey,  Series  H,  Forestry  12,  Professional 
Paper  No.  37.     291  p.     Washington,  1905. 

Branson,  E.  C.  Farm  Life  Conditions  in  the  South.  State  Normal  School, 
Athens,  Georgia. 

Brigham,  Albert  Perry.  Geographic  Influences  in  American  History.  366  p. 
Boston,  Ginn  &  Co.,  1903. 

Gannett,  Henry.  Physiographic  Types.  Washington,  Geological  Survey,  1898. 
(U.  S.  Geological  Survey,  Topographic  Atlas,  Folio  1.) 

Glenn,  Leonidas  Chalmers.  Denudation  and  Erosion  in  the  Southern  Appa- 
lachian Region  and  the  Monongahela  Basin.  U.  S.  Geological  Survey,  Profes- 
sional Paper  No.  72,  191 1. 

Hall,  William  L.  The  Waning  Hardwood  Supply  and  the  .Appalachian  Forests. 
U.  S.  Department  of  Agriculture,  Forest  Service,  Circular  116,  September  24. 
1907. 

Holmes,  J.  S.  Forest  Fires  in  North  Carolina  during  1912.  North  Carolina 
Geologic  and  Economic  Survey,  Economic  Paper,  1913,  No.  33. 


385 


THE  SOUTHERN  HIGHLANDER 

Kentucky  Geological  Survey.     The  Eastern  Coal  Field;  comprising  eight  reports 
on  the  resources  of  some  of  the  counties  located  in  the  eastern  coal  field.     304  p. 
Frankfort,  1884. 
Leighton,  M.  O.,   and    Horton,  A.  H.     Relation  of  the  Southern   Appalachian 
Mountains  to  Inland  Water  Navigation.     U.  S.   Department  of  Agriculture, 
Forest  Service,  Circular  No.  143,  1908. 
and  Hall,  M.  R.,  and  Bolster,  R.  H.     Relation  of  the  Southern  Appalachian 
Mountains  to  the  Development  of  Water  Power.     U.  S.   Department  of 
Agriculture,  Forest  Service,  Circular  No.  144,  1908. 
McCalley,  Henry.    Report  on  the  Coal  Measures  of  the  Plateau  Region  of  Ala- 
bama.    238  p.     Montgomery,  A.  Smith  «&  Co.,  1 89 1. 

Report  on  the  Valley  Regions  of  Alabama  (Paleozoic  Strata).    2  vols.    Mont- 
gomery, Armstrong,  1896-97. 
Report  on  the  Warrior  Coal  Basin.     327  p.     Jacksonville,  Fla.,  Vance  Printing 
Co.,  1900. 
Message  from  the  President  of  the  United  States  transmitting  a  Report  of  the  Secre- 
tary of  Agriculture  in  Relation  to  the  Forests,  Rivers,  and  Mountains  of  the 
Southern  Appalachian  Region.     Washington,  Government,  1902. 
Miller,  E.  E.   Some  Problems  of  the  Southern  Hill  Country;  a  land  of  wonderful 
possibilities  for  the  stockman,  fruit  grower,  and  general  farmer,  some  of  the  spe- 
cial needs  of  this  section  and  some  of  the  problems  it  has  to  solve.     In  Progressive 
Farmer,  XXV:   726,  736-737-     September,  1910. 
National  Conservation  Commission,  Report  of  February,  1909.     3  vols.     Wash- 
ington, Government,  1909. 
National  Forest  Commission.     Annual  Report  for  fiscal  year  ending  June  30,  1919. 

Washington,  Government,  1920. 
Physiography  of   the   United    States,  Ten    Monographs,     345    p.      New   York, 

American  Book  Co.,  1896. 
Safford,  J.  M.,  and   Killebrew,  J.   B.     Elements  of  the  Geology  of  Tennessee. 

264  p.     Nashville,  Foster  and  Webb,  1900. 
Smith,  J.  Russell.    Farming  Appalachia.     American   Review  oj  Reviews,   Llll: 

329-336.     March,  1916. 
Spencer,  J.  W.   The  Paleozoic  Group:  The  Geology  of  the  ten  counties  of  north- 
western Georgia,  and  resources.    406  p.     Atlanta,  G.  W.  Harrison,  Printer,  1893. 
(Georgia  Geological  Survey.) 
Tate,  W.  K.    The  Enrichment  of  Rural  Life  in  South  Carolina.     University  of 

South  Carolina,  Founder's  Day  Bulletin,  191 1. 
United  States,  Department  of  Agriculture.  Report  of  the  Secretary  of  Agriculture 
on  the  Southern  Appalachian  and  White  Mountain  Watersheds;  commercial 
importance,  area,  condition,  advisability  of  their  purchase  for  national  forests, 
and  probable  cost.  Washington,  Government,  1908. 
United  States,  Bureau  of  Soils.  Soils  of  the  United  States,  Edition  1913,  by  Curtis 
F.  Marbut,  Hugh  H.  Bennett,  J.  E.  Lapham,  and  M.  H.  Lapham.     Bulletin  No. 

96,  1913- 

Field  Operations  in  the  Southern  States. 

386 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 

United  States,  Geological  Survey.  Geographical  Atlas  of  the  United  States. 
Folios  and  Quadrangles  for  the  Southern  Highland  States. 

Mineral  r<esources  of  the  United  States,  1914.     Washington.  Government. 
Mineral  Resources  of  the  United  States,  1917.     Washington,  Government. 
Mineral  Resources  of  the  United  States,  1918,  Preliminary  Report.     Wash- 
ington, Government. 
United  States,  House  of  Representatives.     Survey  of  the  Big  Sandy,  West  Virginia, 
and   Kentucky,  including  Levisa  and  Tug  Forks;    Preliminary   Report.     56th 
Congress,  Document  No.  326.     First  Session. 
United  States  Senate.     Water  Power  Development  in  the  United  States,   1912. 

Senate  Document  No.  316,  64th  Congress. 
Yeates,  W.  S.,  McCallie,  S.  W.,  and  King,  F.  P.     A  Preliminary  Report  on  a  part 
of  the  Gold  Deposits  of  Georgia.     542  p.     Atlanta,  Ga.,  Franklin  Printing  and 
Publishing  Co.,  1896.     (Georgia  Geological  Survey.) 
Reports  of  State  Departments  (nine  Southern  Highland  States). 
Agriculture  (including  soil  surveys). 
Forestry. 
Geological  Survey. 

EDUCATION 

Anderson,  David  C.  The  School  System  of  Norway.  232  p.  Boston,  R.  D. 
Badger,  1913. 

Coates,  T.  J.  Demonstration  Schools  in  Kentucky.  In  Proceedings  of  the  15th 
Conference  for  Education  in  the  South.     Nashville,  Tenn.,  1912. 

Education  in  Sweden,  with  special  reference  to  hygienic  conditions.  Royal  Swedish 
Committee  for  the  second  International  Congress  on  School  Hygiene,  London, 
August,  1907.     P.  A.  Norstedt  and  Soner.     Stockholm,  1907. 

Frost,  Norman.  A  Statistical  Study  of  the  Public  Schools  of  the  Southern  Appa- 
lachian Mountains.     U.  S.  Bureau  of  Education,  Bulletin,  1915,  No.  1 1. 

North  Carolina  Club  Year  Book,  1916-17;  1917-18.  University  of  North  Carolina 
Record,  Extension  Series  No.  23,  30.     Chapel  Hill,  N.  C. 

United  States,  Bureau  of  Education.     State  Laws  Relating  to  Education  enacted  in 
191  5,  1916,  1917.     Compiled  by  W.  R.  Hood.     Bulletin,  1918,  No.  23. 
Digest  of  State  Laws  relating  to  public  education  in  force  January  1,  191  5, 
compiled  by  William  R.  Hood,  with  the  assistance  of  Stephen  B.  Weeks^and 
A.  Sidney  Ford.    987  p.     Washington,  Government,  1916. 


DANISH  FOLK  SCHOOLS 

Appel,  Jacob.  The  Danish  High  Schools.  Darlington,  England,  North  of  Eng- 
land Newspaper  Co.,  Ltd.,  1904. 

Bay,  J.  Christian.  The  "Peasant  Universities"  of  Denmark.  In  Education, 
XXII:    15-22,  1901. 

Bruun,  Christopher.  Folkelige  Grundtanker.  208  p.  Christiania,  Norway, 
Albert  Cammermeyer,  189S. 


387 


THE  SOUTHERN  HIGHLANDER 

Butlin,  F.  M.    Among  the  Danes.     278  p.     New  York,  J.  Pott  &  Co.,  London, 

Methuen  &  Co.,  1909. 
Foght,  Harold  W.    Danish  Elementary  Rural  Schools;    with  some  reference  to 
seminaries  for  the  training  of  rural  teachers.     U.  S.  Bureau  of  Education,  Bulle- 
tin, 1914,  No.  24. 
The  Educational  System  of  Rural   Denmark.     U.  S.  Bureau  of  Education, 

Bulletin,  1913,  No.  58. 
Rural  Denmark  and  its  Schools.     355  p.     New  York,  The  Macmillan  Com- 
pany, 191 5. 
Friend,  L.  L.      The  Folk  High  Schools  of  Denmark.     U.  S.    Bureau  of  Educa- 
tion, Bulletin,  1914,  No.  5. 
Hegland,   Martin.  The  Danish  People's  High  School;    including  a  General  Ac- 
count of  the  Educational  System  of  Denmark.     U.  S.  Bureau  of  Education,  Bul- 
letin, 1915,  No.  45. 
Jonsson,  J.  V.    The  "People's  High-Schools."     in  Sweden,  a  short  summary  of 
their  origin,  development,   and  aims.     Printed   by  Orebro   Dagblad's  Office, 
Orebro,  1904. 
Povlsen,  Alfred.    The  Danish  Popular  High  School.     Reprint  of  the  Oxford  Uni- 
versity Extension  Gazette,  September,   1894.    Odense,  Andelsbogtrykkeriet  i 
Odense,  1907. 
Swenson,  John  Robert.    Grundtvig  and    the   Common-people's    High    School; 
Denmark's  contribution  to  the  history  of  education.     (Course  Thesis  in  Educa- 
tion 5,  University  of  Texas,  February  29,  1904.     MSS.) 
Thornton,  Joseph  S.   The  People's  High  Schools  in  Denmark.     In  Continuation 
Schools  in  England  and  Elsewhere,     p.  483-512.     Edited  by  M.  E.  Sadler,  Man- 
chester, University  Press,  1907. 

Recent  Educational  Progress  in  Denmark,  p.  587-614.  In  Great  Britain, 
Eaucational  Department,  Special  Reports  on  Educational  Subjects,  Vol.  ]. 
London,  Eyre  and  Spottiswoods,  1897-98. 

CO-OPERATIVE  MOVEMENT 

Doane,  Charles  F.,  and  Reed,  A.  J.  Cheesemaking  Brings  Prosperity  to  Farmers 
of  Southern  Mountains,  p.  147-152.  U.  S.  Department  of  Agriculture,  Year- 
book, 1917. 

Faber,  Harald.  Co-operation  in  Danish  Agriculture.  176  p.  London,  Longmans, 
Green  and  Co.,  1918. 

Ireland,  Commission  of  Agriculture.  Report  on  Co-operative  Agriculture  and 
Rural  Conditions  in  Denmark.     Dublin,  Alexander  Thom  &  Co.,  1903. 

Knapp,  S.  A.  Demonstration  Work  in  Co-operation  with  Southern  Farmers. 
U.  S.  Department  of  Agriculture.     Farmer's  Bulletin,  1908,  No.  319. 

Morris,  Lloyd.  The  Celtic  Dawn.  (Ch.  VI.)  251  p.  New  York,  The  Macmillan 
Company,  1917. 

Plunkett,  Sir  Horace.  Ireland  in  the  New  Century.  300  p.  New  York,  E.  P. 
Dutton  and  Co.,  1904. 

388 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Plunkett,  Sir  Horace,  PilkinRton,  Ellice,  and  Russell,  George  W.  United  Irish- 
women, 1  heir  Place,  Work,  and  Ideals.     Dublin,  Maunsel  and  Co.,  Ltd.,  191 1. 

Russell,  George  W.  The  Rural  Community.  In  Rural  Manhood,  March  and 
.'\pril,  1914. 

Smith-Gordon,  Lionel,  and  Staples,  Laurence  G.  Rural  Reconstruction  in  Ire- 
land.    280  p.     London,  P.  S.  King  and  Son,  1917. 

GENERAL 

Billups,  Edward  W.  The  Sweet  Songster.  A  collection  of  the  most  popular  and 
approved  songs,  hymns,  and  ballads.     Catlettsburg,  Ky.,  C.  L.  McConnell,  1854. 

Campbell,  Olive  D.,  and  Sharp,  Cecil  J.  English  Folk  Songs  from  the  Southern 
Appalachians.     341  p.     New  York,  G.  Putnam's  Sons,  1917. 

Campbell,  Olive  D.  Old  Songs  and  Ballads  of  the  Southern  Mountains.  In  Sur- 
vey, January  2,  1915. 

Campbell,  Robert  F.  Classification  of  Mountain  Whites.  Hampton  Institute 
Press,  1901. 

Child,  Francis  J.  English  and  Scottish  Popular  Ballads.  730  p.  Boston, 
Houghton,  Mifflin  and  Co.,  1904. 

Combs,  Josiah  H.  The  Kentucky  Highlanders  from  a  Native  Mountaineer's  View- 
point.    Lexington,  Ky.,  J.  L.  Richardson  and  Co.,  1913. 

Kephart,  Horace.  Our  Southern  Highlanders.  395  p.  New  York,  Outing  Co., 
191 3. 

Miles,  Emma  B.  The  Spirit  of  the  Mountains.  201  p.  New  York,  James  Pott 
and  Co.,  1905. 

Murdoch,  Louise  S.   Almetta  of  Gabriel's  Run.    New  York,  Meridian  Press,  1917. 

Mutzenburg,  Charles  G.  Kentucky's  Famous  Feuds  and  Tragedies.  333  p. 
New  York,  R.  F.  Fenno,  1917. 

Semple,  Ellen  C.  The  Anglo-Saxons  of  the  Kentucky  Mountains,  a  Study  in 
Anthropogeography.  Reprint  from  Bulletin  of  the  American  Geographic  So- 
ciety, \'ol.  XLII,  August,  1910. 

Sharp,  Cecil  J.  The  Country  Dance  Book,  Part  V.  London,  Novello.  New 
York.  H.  W.  Gray. 

Thomas,  E.  D.  A  New  and  Choice  Selection  of  Hymns  and  Spiritual  Songs  for 
the  use  of  the  Regular  Baptist  Church  and  all  Lovers  of  Song.  Catlettsburg, 
Ky.,  C.  L.  McConnell,  1871. 

Whitaker,  Fess.  History  of  Corporal  Fess  Whitaker,  Life  in  the  Kentucky 
Mountains,  Mexico,  and  Texas.  1 52  p.  Louisville,  Ky.,  Standard  Printing  Co., 
1918. 

Wilson,  Samuel  Tyndale.  The  Southern  Mountaineers.  202  p.  Literature  De- 
partment, Presbyterian  Home  Missions,  156  Fifth  Avenue.     New  York,  1914. 


389 


INDEX 


INDEX 

(Italics  denote  publications) 


Act  for  Religious  Freedom,  i6i 

Agriculture:  making  "the crop,"  135; 
soil  provinces,  246;  report  of  sur- 
veys, 247-250;  extent  of  agricultural 
lands,  250-251;  hindrances  to  devel- 
opment, 252;  use  of  fertilizers,  253; 
fruit  culture,  249,  253,  254;  canning 
clubs,  254;  tree  farming,  255;  cattle 
and  poultr>'  raising,  255;  dairying,  256 
-257;  co-operative  movements,  256- 
259;  cheese  making,  256-257,  316; 
Templecrone  Agricultural  Co-oper- 
ative Society,  258;  ideals,  311 ;  schools 
essential,  312-314;  Irish  Agricultural 
Organization  Society,  315 

Alabama:  topography  of,  10,  11,  13, 
335-337;  gain  in  population,  47,  76; 
regional  descriptions  of,  335-337 

Allegheny-Cumberland  Belt:  des- 
cription of,  14-16,  17;  Allegheny 
Mountains  of  Pennsylvania,  17;  Cat- 
skills  of  New  York,  17;  population  of, 
74-80;  Baptists  in,  171;  census  of 
illiterates  in,  261,  262 

Allegheny  Moitntains.  See  Alle- 
gheny-Cumberland Belt 

Almetta  of  Gabriel's  Run:  by  Louise 
S.  Murdoch,  135,  140 

Altitude:  Blue  Ridge  Range,  13,  14, 
17;  Allegheny-Cumberland,  15; 
Mount  Mitchell,  229;  and  climate, 
243;  mountain  farms,  248,  252 

American  Country  Life  Association, 
30s 

American  Nation,  The,  48,  95 

Ancestry:  Fiske's  theory,  8,  340; 
sources,  and  racial  composition,  50- 
71;  conjectures  as  to,  51;  redemp- 
tioners,  51,  68,  69;  Campbell's  Dis- 
trict, 52;  classification,  and  history, 
53-71;  isolation  and  social  grouping, 
73;  historical  estimates,  355-359 

Anglo-Saxon.     See  Ancestry;  English 


Anglo-Saxons  of  the  Kentucky  Moun- 
tains:  by  Ellen  C.  Semple,  88 

Appalachian  Province,  10, 17,  23,  229, 

335 
"Appalachians,"  18 
Appeal:  new  basis  of,  323-331 

Areas:  of  Southern  Highlands,  10,  11, 
13,  19;  mountain,  by  states,  19,  360; 
"great  wilderness,"  32;  land  cessions 
by  Indians,  39;  and  distribution  of 
population,  75,  79;  agricultural  lands, 
248-251;  regional  descriptions  of,  by 
states,  335-348;  table  of,  360.  See 
also  Mountain  Areas 

Arminian  Doctrine,  158 

Arthur,  John  Preston,  113 

Asbury,  Rev.  Francis,  88,  165 

Ballads:  English,  97,  146;  "Swapping 
Song,"  loi;  of  rural  courtship,  129- 
131;   burial  hymns,  147-148 

Bancroft,  George,  355 

Baptist  Missions  in  the  South:  by  Vic- 
tor I.  Masters,  183 

Baptists:  growth  of,  159-161,  162-165, 
169,  170,  171,  172,  173;  migration  of, 
to  West,  162-163;  census  of,  170, 172; 
divisions  of,  173,  174;  membership, 
by  states,  371 

Bassett,  J.  S.,  91 

Bean,  William,  28,  40,  60 

Belts:  physiographic  outline  of,  12- 
17;  Blue  Ridge,  13;  Allegheny-Cum- 
berland, 14;  Greater  Appalachian 
Valley,  16;  description  of  mountain 
areas,  335-348 

Berkshire  Hills.    See  Blue  Ridge  Belt 

Bernheim,  G.  D.,  153,  163 

Blockaders,  105 


393 


INDEX 


Blue  Ridge  Belt:  description  of,  13- 
14,  17,  22,  24;  South  Mountain, 
Pennsylvania,  17;  Berkshire  Hills, 
17;  Green  Mountains,  17;  population 
of,  74-80;  Baptists  in,  171;  census 
of  illiterates,  261,  262 

Boarding  Schools:  how  established, 
277;  curriculum,  277;  diet,  279; 
scholarships,  277-278;  relation  to 
community,     282;    location   of,    284 

BOHANNON,  JUDSON  S.,  66 

Boone,  Daniel:    expeditions  by,   27- 

28,  29,  30,  34;    and  Indian  attacks, 

29,  34;  Boonesborough,  30,  34;  an- 
cestrv'  of,  60;  trail,  and  tablets  mark- 
ing, 352-354 

Boone's  Trail,  352-354 

Boonesborough,  Ky.,  30,  34 

Boundaries:  of  SouthemHighlands,  10- 
17;  Mason  and  Dixon  line,  11;  Blue 
Ridge  Belt,  13-14;  Allegheny-Cum- 
berland Belt,  14-15;  Greater  Appa- 
lachian Valley,  16-17,  24;  of  Cherokee 
Nation,  39,  42,  43;  population  groups, 
78-8 1 .    See  also  Maps 

Boys:  early  training  and  recreation, 
124-126 

Brackenridge,  H.  M.,  92,  107,  108 

Branson,  Dr.  E.  C,  307,  308 

Brief  History  oj  Macon  County:  by  C.  D. 
Smith,  113 

Brogden,  L.  C,  266,  267 

Bruce,  H.  A.  B.,  35,  60 

Bruun,  Christopher,  290 

Buffalo,  28,  41 

Building  Stones,  241 

Cabins:  symbols  of  pioneer  life,  72; 
living  conditions  in,  88-89 ;_  pictur- 
esqueness  of,  123,  141;  typical,  18, 
87.  195 

Calvinists,  164,  165 

Campbell,  John  C,  xi,  260,  273 

Campbell,  Olive  Dame,  xvi,  69,  71, 
97, loi, 131, 147, 185,  271 

Campbell,  Dr.  R.  F.,  163 

Campbell's  District,  52 


Camps:  forest  provision  for,  233 

Canning  Clubs,  254 

Canterbury,  Edith  R.,  xv 

Carolina  Piedmont,  22,  25,  28,  58,  59, 
91 

Carroll,  H.  K.,  173 

Catskills.  See  Allegheny-Cumberland 
Belt 

Cattle.    See  Livestock 

Census:  of  immigration,  23,  25,  47,  54, 
56,  58,  62,  63,  64,  6s;  of  names,  61- 
65;  population,  74-80;  homicide 
rates,  115,  116,  117;  of  religious 
bodies,  169-172,  371;  mortality  sta- 
tistics, 208-214;  illiteracy  statistics, 
261-263 

Century  of  Population  Growth,  54 

"Cheese  Making  Brings  Prosper- 
ity TO  the  Farmers  of  the  South- 
ern Mountains":  by  C.  F.  Doane 
and  A.  J.  Reed,  257 

Cheese  Making:  government  co-oper- 
ation, 256,  257;  state  factories  for, 
256;  profits  from,  256,  257 

Cherokee  Indians:  and  the  pioneer 
settlers,  26;  boundary  treaties,  39, 
42;  North  Carolina  treaty  with,  66 

Child,  F.  J.,  97 

Children:  and  size  of  families,  138, 
226;  health  study  of  rural,  207,  215, 
220;  infant  mortality,  209,  213-214; 
neglect  of,  215,  217 

Church  ant)  Indepentjent  Schools: 
scope  of  work,  6,  20;  influence  of, 
119;  Presbyterian  colleges,  163-164; 
conduct  of,  271;  denominations  main- 
taining, 271;  history  of,  272;  what 
term  implies,  271;  number  of,  273; 
mountain  colleges,  273;  boarding 
schools,  276;  diet,  279;  cause  of 
criticism,  281;  enrollment,  286;  help 
to  public  schools,  287-290;  future  for, 
289;  budget,  297 

Church  Membership,   169-174,  371-, 
See  also  Denominations;  Religion 


394 


INDEX 


Civil  War:  Highlanders'  part  in,  90, 
q6-<?9,  121;  veterans,  96;  and  disci- 
pline, 121 

Clark,  Dr.  Taliaferro,  xv 

Clay,  241 

Climate,  243;  and  rainfall,  244 

Coal  Mining:  and  homicide  rates, 
117;  division  of  areas,  236-237;  gov- 
ernment report  on,  237;  table  of  sta- 
tistics, 238;  miners  and  wages,  238- 
239;  coke  output,  239 

Coastal  Plain:  and  routes  of  travel, 
22 

Coke:  output  of,  239 

Colleges:  first  institutions  of  learn- 
ing, 163-164;  term  misleading,  273; 
data  on,  273 

Colonial  Records:  of  North  Caro- 
lina, 25,  91;  estimates  of  population, 
355-359 

Colonization:  immigration  measures 
for,  320 

Combs,  Josiah  Henry,  144 

Commons,  John  R.,  358 

Confederates:  in  North  Carolina,  96 

Conference  of  Southern  Mountain 
Workers,  xiii,  265,  321 

Conquest  of  the  Old  Soiithwesl:  by  Archi- 
bald Henderson,  28 

Continental  Congress:  estimates  of 
population  by,  355-359 

Coolidge,  Ruth  Dame,  62 

Co-operation:  U.  S.  Dairy  Di\nsion, 
256;  cheese  factories,  256-257;  in 
agricultural  movements,  257-259; 
in  Ireland,  258-259;  Sir  Horace  Plun- 
kett  an  exponent,  258,  316;  George 
W.  Russell,  258,  31b;  Templecrone 
Agricultural  Co-operative  Society, 
258,  317;  co-operative  store,  317; 
appeal  for,  330 

Copper,  241 

"Corner  Stone  of  Democracy,"  99 

Corn  Husking,  143 

Country  Dance  Book,  The:  by  Cecil  J. 
Sharp,  70 


Country  Stores:   supplies,  203 

Courting:  and  mountain  ballads,  129- 

131 

Crime:    types  of,    110-119,  244.     See 
also  Homicides 

Cumberland  Gap,  15,  26,  33,  48 

Cumberland  Plateau,  15 

Cumberland  Valley.    See  Greater  Ap- 
palachian Valley 

Cuming,  Fortesque,  167,  168 

Currency:  in  Watauga  settlements,  29 


Dairying:  history,  and  opportunities 
for,  256-257;  government  specialists, 
256;  cheese  factories,  256-257;  co- 
operative, 256 

Dance:  and  old-time  fiddler,  143.  See 
also  Folk  Song  and  Dance 

Daniel  Boone  and  the  Wilderness  Road: 
by  H.  A.  B.  Bruce,  35,60 

Danish  Folk  Schools,  290-298,  310 

Day  Schools:  character  of,  274,  ad- 
justment of  work,  275-276 

Defectives,  217,  218 

Definition:  Southern  Highlander  mis- 
interpreted, 8,  18,  20,  349;  territorial 
boundaries,  10-17;  of  Southern  High- 
landers, 18-21;  "West  of  the  Alle- 
ghenies,"  65;  population  groups,  79- 
81 

Denominationalism:  early  theological 
differences,  3-5,  7;  and  racial  classi- 
fication, 53,  55,  61;  growth  of,  152- 
175;  opinions  and  diaries,  153-169, 
173;  Act  of  Toleration,  154,  157,  161: 
Presbyterian  schools,  163-164;  census 
of  religious  bodies,  169-174;  church 
schools,  271,  279.    See  also  Religion 

Denudation  and  Erosion  in  the  Southern 
Appalachian  Region  and  the  Monon- 
gahcla  Basin:  by  L.  C.  Glenn,  248 

Development  of  Resources:  gold, 
43;  and  po[)ulation,  76,  78,  89;  for- 
ests, 228-234;  water  power,  234-236; 
coal,  236-239;  coke,  239;  oil  and  gas, 
239;  iron,  240;  various  mineral,  241; 
agricultural,  246-259 


27 


395 


INDEX 


Diet:  food  and  preparation  of,  198- 
202;  effects  of  restricted,  202,  203, 
217;  mountain  schools,  279;  improve- 
ment in,  needed,  311.    See  also  Food 

Diseases:  and  rural  health  problems, 
195-225;  kinds  of,  204,  209-216; 
and  death  rates,  208-214;  campaigns 
to  prevent,  215-225;  Rockefeller  San- 
itary Commission,  216, 220 

Dissenters,  154-155,  162;  Mcllwaine 
on,  156 

Distilling.    See  Moonshiners 

Dislribtition  of  Ability  in  the  United 
States:  by  Henry  Cabot  Lodge,  53 

Dixie  Highway,  242 

DoAK,  Dr.  Samuel,  31,  65 

Doane,  C.  F.,  257 

DuNKERS:  census  of,  170,  171,  174; 
membership,  by  states,  371 

Dutch,  51,  54,  61,  71;  settlement,  166 

Early  Western  Travels:  by  Reuben  G. 
Thwaites,  38,  64,  168 

ECKENRODE,  H.  J.,  155,  157 

Education:  school  reminiscences,  2, 
6-7;  college  founded  by  Dr.  Doak  in 
1785,  65;  in  rural  Highlands,  127, 
260;  insistence  of  Presbyterians  on, 
163-164;  and  colleges,  163-164;  rural 
preachers,  181,  188-194;  in  health 
matters,  218-225;  definition,  260;  il- 
literacy statistics,  260-263;  public 
school  systems,  264-271;  church  and 
independent  schools,  271-289;  folk 
schools,  application  of  methods,  290- 
298;  heroism  needed,  285;  reforms 
in,  305-315.    See  also  Schools 

Emigration  to  the  United  States  of  A  mer- 
ica,  Observations  on:  by  William  Sav- 
age, 46 

English:  Anglo-Saxon  lineage,  51,  56, 
57,  62,  71;  redemptioners,  51,  68,  69; 
names  of  petitioners,  6 1 ;  Sharp  on,  70; 
folk  songs  and  ballads,  97 

English  and  Scottish  Popular  Ballads: 
by  F.  J.  Child,  97 


English  Folk  Songs  from  the  Southern  Ap- 
palachians: by  Olive  Dame  Camp- 
bell and  Cecil  J.  Sharp,  71,  97,  loi, 
131, 185 

Environment:  effect  of  isolation,  73?-' 
93,  195,  261 

Established  Church:  growth  of, 
155-159;  persecution  from,  159-160; 
census  of,  170 

Excise  Law:  and  moonshining,  109 

"Fall  Line,"  22 

Family  History.   See  Ancestry 

"Farming  Appalachia":     by    J.    R. 

Smith,  255 

Farms.    See  Agriculture 

Faust,  Albert  Berntiardt,  55,  56,  58, 

59,  153,  358,  359 

Fertilizers,  253 

Feuds:  relation  to  whiskey,  no; 
causes,  III,  112;  "war "in Kentucky, 

"3 
Fiddlers:  and  the  country  dance,  143 

Fint-ey,  John,  28 

Fiske,  John,  8,  349 

Fodder  Pulling,  142 

Folk  Schools  of  Denmark:  history, 
290;  psychology  of,  290;  conduct, 
293,  influence,  294;  application  to 
mountains,  295-298 

Folk  Song  and  Dance:  Sharp  on,  69, 
70,  71,  97;  Country  Dance  Book, 
70;  of  the  Southern  Mountains,  131, 
143,  147 

Food:    kinds  of,  84,  86,    199;    means 
of  preparing,  84,  88,   200-202; 
the  country  store,  203 

Ford,  Henry  Jones,  23, 154,  358 

Foreign  Born:  papulation,  74,  75', 
percentage  of  illiteracy  for,  261,  262 

Forest  Fires,  231 

Forests:   beauty  of,  123,  228;   abuse, 
228,  231-232;  variety,  229;  output 
by  states,  230-231;  reservations,  232- 
234;  fire  damage  to,  231;  relation  to 
water  power,  234 


and 
See  also  Diet 


:'\ 


396 


INDEX 


Franklin:  state  of,  in  Tennessee,  28, 
92 

French  Treaty  in  1763,  27 

Frontier  in  American  History,  The:  by 
Frederick  J.  Turner,  41 

Frontier  Life.     See  Settlements 

Frost,  Norman,  265 

Fruit:  cultivation  of,  249,  253,  254 

FuNER.\LS:  impressiveness  of,  147; 
memorial  services,  148-149 

Future  of  the  Church  and  Independent 
Schools  in  our  Southern  Highlands: 
by  John  C.  Campbell,  260,  273 


Game:  abundance  of  wild,  28,  41 

Gas:  region  of  natural,  239  . 

Genealogy.   See  Ancestry 

Georgia  and  the  Georgia  People,  The  Story 
of:  by  George  G.  Smith,  43 

Georgia  Club,  307 

Georgia:  topography  of,  10,  11,  16, 
337-339;  travel  route  in,  ^y,  gold, 
value  of  deposits,  42-43;  gain  in  pop- 
ulation, 47,  77;  regional  descriptions 
of,  337-339 

German  and  Siviss  Settlements  of  Colonial 
Pennsylvania,  The:  by  Arthur  Kuhns, 
23 

German  Element  in  the  United  Stales, 
The:  by  Albert  B.  Faust,  55,  153,  359 

German  Immigr.\nts:  and  early  settle- 
ment, 23,  25,  53,  54,  55,  56,  58;  Faust, 
historian  on,  55,  56,  58,  59;  study  of 
names,  60,  63,  65,  historical  estimates 
of,  355-359 

German  Reformed:  growth  of,  reli- 
gion, 152,  153,  171 

Glenn,  LEO^^DAS  Chalmers,  xv,  24S 

Gold:  extent  of  fields  in  Georgia,  42- 
43;    U.  S.  Mint  at  Dahlonega,  43 

Gold  Deposits  of  Georgia:   report  on,  42 

Graveyards:  and  burial  hymns,  147, 
148 


Greater  Appalachian  Valley:  parts 
of,  12,  38;  description,  16-17,  24,335'. 
Cumberland  and  Lebanon  Valleys, 
17;  Paulinskill  Valley,  New  Jersey, 
17;  Wallkill  Valley,  New  York,  17; 
population  of,  74-80;  tuberculosis  in, 
210;  census  of  illiterates  in,  261,  262 

Great  Smokies,  14 

Greek  Orthodox  Church,  171 

Green  Mountains.     See   Blue   Ridge 

Bell 
Grundt\'ig,  Bishop,  290 

Hamilton,  Alexander,  108 

Hanna,  Charles  A.,  24,  55,   56,   58, 

154, 355 

Hardwood:    forest  area  of,    230-232;- 
waning  supply,  230,  231;    waste  of, 
232 

Haw'ks,  Fr.\ncis  L.,  160 

Health:    and  living  conditions,   195- 

202;    and  household  remedies,   205; 

study  of,  by  Children's  Bureau,  207; 

activities  to  promote,  215-225;  table, 

209 
Health  Problems:     rural,     195-225; 

congestion  in  homes,  196,  198;    lack 

of   sanitation,    197;     diet,    198-203; 

diseases,    204,    209-216;     preventive 

measures,  215-225 

Henderson,  Archibald,  28 

Henderson,  Colonel  Richard,  30; 
"Proprietors  of  Colony  of  Transyl- 
vania," 30 

Herbs  and  Roots:  remedies  from,  205 

Highlant)  Scotch,  52,  55,  57,  58,  71; 
sketch  of  Flora  MacDonald,  57-58 

Highways,  242 

Historical  Sketches  of  North  Carolina: 
by  John  H.  Wheeler,  58, 60 

History  of  Augusta  County:  by  John  L. 
Peyton,  156 

History  of  the  Baptist  Churches  in  the 
United  States:  by  A.  H.  Newman, 
165,  183 

History  of  Corporal  Fess  Whitaker,  Life 
in  the  Kentucky  Mountains,  Mexico, 
and  Texas,  44,  100 


397 


INDEX 


History  of  the  German  Settlements,  and 
of  the  Lutheran  Church  in  North  and 
South  Carolina:  by  G.  D.  Bemheim, 
153,  163 

History  of  the  Rise  and  Progress  of  the 
Baptists  in  Virginia:  by  Robert  B. 
Semple,  163 

History  of  the  United  States  of  America: 
by  George  Bancroft,  355 

History  of  Western  Insurrection  in  West- 
ern  Pennsylvania,  Commonly  Called 
the  Whiskey  Insurrection:  by  H.  M. 
Brackenridge,  92,  107 

Holiness  Sect,  172 

Holston  Methodism;  from  its  Origin  to 
Present  Time:  by  R.  N.  Price,  166 

Holston  Settlements:  first  wilder- 
ness outposts,  27,  30,  2>i,  168 

Home  Life:  variety  in  homes,  72- 
73,  83-89,  123,  196-202;  food,  84,  86, 
198-202;  hospitality,  84-85,  88; 
Semple  on,  88;  and  women's  work, 
123,  126,  128-129,  139;  of  the  boy, 
124;  and  health  problems,  204-225 

Homicide:  statistics,  114-119;  Negro 
rate,  115,  116;  rates  by  belts  and 
counties,  116-117;  among  miners, 
117 

Hookworm:  and  the  Rockefeller  San- 
itary Commission,  216,  220 

Horse  Swapping:  and  trading,  100- 
loi;  "Swapping  Song,"  loi 

Hospitality,  72,  84,  88 

Housing:  living  conditions  and  health, 
195-198.    See  also  Cabins 

Howell,  Robert  Boyle  C,  160,  379 

Huguenots,  55,  56,  57,  58,  60,  67 

Hymns  and  Spiritual  Songs:  by  E.  D. 
Thomas,  185 

Hymns:  words  and  music,  173,  176, 
184,  185,  186,  187 

Ideals  of  the  New  Rural  Society:  by 
George  W.  Russell,  316 

Illegitimacy,  132 

Illinois,  The  Settlement  of.  From  1830  to 
1850:  by  William  V.  Pooley,  47 


Illiteracy:  statistics,  261-263;  school 
systems  for,  264-298 

Imlay,  Gilbert,  40 

Immigration:  from  Maysville,  Ky.,  11, 
35;  and  pioneer  settlements,  22-49; 
to  Atlantic  ports,  23,  25;  migration 
southward,  25;  conflicts  with  Indians, 
26-30,  34;  account  of,  by  Kentucky 
woman,  67-68;  distribution  of  pop- 
ulation, 74,  75;  and  colonization,  320. 
See  also  Migratiott 

Independence:  Highlander's  chief 
trait,  90-91,  300;  and  frontier  life, 
93;  and  iUiteracy,  102 

Intdians:  and  the  early  settlers,  26-39; 
treaties  with,  27,  39,  66;  Cherokee 
Nation  boundaries,  39,  42,  43;  trails 
and  traces,  26,  34,  36,  44;  menace  of, 
3O1  34,  35;  admixture  with  whites, 
7 1 .    See  also  Cherokee  Indians 

Individualism:  picturesque  descrip- 
tions, 8,  18,  20,  72,  88;  in  various 
aspects,  90-122;  independence,  90; 
study  of  causes,  94;  in  old  ballads,  97, 
100;  andmoonshining,io3-iio;  feuds, 
no,  114;  interpreting  Scripture,  178- 
179;  religious  beliefs,  180-181;  emo- 
tional appeal,  182-188 

Industries:  and  population  growth, 
76,78,89;  fireside,  123,129;  forest, 
230-234;  and  water  power  control, 
234-236;  coalmining,  117,  236-239; 
oil  and  natural  gas,  239;  iron,  240; 
various  mineral,  241 ;  development 
of  resources,  244-245,  320;  agricul- 
tural, 246-259 

Ikfant  Mortality,  209,  213-214 

Ireland  in  the  New  Century :  by  Sir  Hor- 
ace Plunkett,  295 

Irish  Agricultural  Organization 
Society,  315 

Iron:  states  producing,  and  value,  240; 
factors  afi'ecting  costs,  240 

Isolation:  of  mountain  settlements, 
49,  250;  and  social  groups,  73,  78-81; 
influence  on  social  conditions,  73,  88, 
93;  and  illiteracy,  102,  127,  260;  rail- 
roads may  overcome,  150;  and  health, 
195;  percentage  of  illiteracy  in  moun- 
tain belts,  261-263 


398 


INDEX 


Jay's  Treaty,  32 

Jews:  census  of,  171 

John  Sevier:  by  Oliver  P.  Temple,  60 

Johnson,  Dr.  Paul,  xv 

Kentenia-Catron  Corpor.\tion:  do- 
nates forest  reservation  to  Kentucky, 
234 

Kentucky:  topography  of,  10,  11,  15, 
339-341;  early  settlements  in,  30,  32, 
40,  42;  history  of  migrations,  44,  45; 
"wild  catters,"  45;  Pound  Gap,  45; 
Savage  on  Emigration,  46;  genealogi- 
cal studies  in,  61,62,  63,  64,  65 ;  popu- 
lation density,  77;  regional  descrip- 
tions of,  339-341 

Kentucky  Highlanders  from  a  Native 
Mountaineer's  Viewpoint,  The:  by 
Josiah  H.  Combs,  144 

Kentucky  Mountains,  Transportation 
and  Commerce,  The:  by  Mary  Ver- 
hoeff,  44,  49 

Kephart,  Horace,  90,  109 

King's  Mountain,  antj  the  Revolu- 
tion, 8,  31,  168;  descendants,  names 
of,  64,  65;  mountain  range,  344 

Knoxville,  History  of:  by  William  Rule, 

31 
Kuhns,  Arthur,  23 

Labor:  Sociability  in,  134-135,  142- 
143;  women's  part  in,  134,  136-137; 
men's,  136;  standards  of,  136-137 

Land  Grants:  to  pioneer  settlers,  27, 
30.  38-39,  43,  45,  66;  "wild  catting," 
45;  prove  North  Carolina  ancestry, 
66;  Allison  grant,  66;  to  Sheltons,  67 

Latter  Day  Saints,  169,  171 

Lebanon  Valley.  See  Greater  Appa- 
lachian Valley 

Livestock:  of  pioneer  settlers,  34,  35, 
47,  48;  value  of,  in  1828,  48;  cattle 
raising,  255 

Living  Conditions:  on  travel  routes, 
34,  44;  of  rural  population,  82-89,  ^95 
-203;  home  life,  83-86,  88-89.  123- 
141,  196-202;  and  health  problems, 
204-225 


Lodge,  Henry  Cabot,  53 

Log  Rollings:  and  house  raisings,  143 

Lutherans:  growth  of,  152,  153,  170, 
171;  census  of,  170,  171;  member- 
ship, by  states,  371 

MacDonald,  Flora:  historical  sketch 
of,  57-58 

Maps:  Jeffrey's,  25;  Mitchell's.  26; 
Imlay's,  44;  illustrating  Highland 
boundaries,  i2l  and_^arly  routes,  32 

Marble,  241    "\>\. 

Marriage:  and  rural  home  life,  127, 
1 29-131,  133,  138-141 

Marylant):   topography  of,  10,  11,  16, 

341;  early  settlements  in,  24,  35,  39; 
migrations,  and  ancestry.  57,  60;  pop- 
ulation density,  76;  regional  descrip- 
tions of,  341-342 

Mason  and  Dixon  Line,  ii 

Massachusetts:  frontier  settlements 
in,  9,  10,  23;  boundaries  in,  17;  pop- 
ulation densit}',  79; 

Masters,  Victor  L,  183 

Maysville,   Ky.,   debarkation    point, 

11,35 
McIlwaine,  Henry  R.,  156 
McRae.  Cameron  F.,  66 
Measles:  death  rate  from,  209,  211 

Mecklenburg,  Declaration  of  1775, 
67,91 

Methodists:  growth  of,  161,  165-166, 
170,  171,  172;  census  of,  170,  171; 
Holiness  Church,  172;  membership, 
by  States,  371 

Mica,  241 

Michaux,  Andr£,  64 

Migration:  sources  of  early  settle- 
ments, 22-49,  53;  southward,  25-29; 
west,  along  Wilderness  Road.  32-34; 
Ohio  River  route,  34,  43;  factors  in, 
43;  of  Kentucky  family  in  1S25,  45; 
westward,  46;  eastward,  48;  in  nine- 
teenth century,  49;  racial  elements  in, 
53-71;  traditions  of,  66-68;  of  Bap- 
tists to  west.  162,  163.  See  also  Im- 
migration 


399 


INDEX 


Miles,  Emma  B.,  i88 

MiNER.\Ls:  gold,  42,  241;  coal,  117, 
236;  irorij  240;  various,  241 

Ministers.    See  Preachers 

Missions:  and  church  boards,  20,302 

Moonshiners:  defined,  and  practices 
of,  103-110,  203;  blockaders,  104- 
105;  Brackenridge on,  107-108;  adul- 
terations, 109;  stills,  no;  and  feuds, 
no;  in  iiction,  149-150 

Moravian  Diaries  of  Travels  through  Vir- 
ginia, 153 

Moravians:  growth  of,  152,  153,  169, 
171 

Morgan  District  of  North  Carolina, 

S4 
Mortality:  statistics,  81,  208-214 

Mountain  Areas:  by  states,  18,  19, 
360;  ceded  by  Indians,  38-39;  Im- 
lay  on,  40;  health  problems  in,  195- 
225;  agricultural  land,  246-251;  Ala- 
bama, 335-337;  Georgia.  337-339; 
Kentucky.  339-341;  Mar>'land,  341- 
342;  North  Carolina,  342-343;  South 
Carolina,  343-344;  Tennessee.  344- 
346;  Virginia,  346-347;  West  Vir- 
ginia, 347-348.    See  also  ylrea^ 

Mountain  Ranges:  natural  bound- 
aries, 11-17;  Blue  Ridge,  12,  13,  17; 
Great  Smokies,  14;  Unaka,  14;  Alle- 
gheny Ridges,  16;  King's,  344 

"Mountain  Whites,"  18 

Murdoch,  Louise  S.,  135 

Music:  English  ballads,  97,  146; 
"Swapping  Song,"  loi;  and  musical 
instruments,  143-144;  hymns,  147- 
148,  176,  184-187.  See  also  Folk 
Song  and  Dance 

Names:  school  enrolment,  2,  50;  dis- 
tinguishing, 50,  51;  racial  classifica- 
tion of,  54-55,  61,  62-65;  first  set- 
tlers, 66 

Narrative  of  Events  Connected  with  the 
Rise  and  Progress  of  the  Protestant 
Episcopal  Church  in  Virginia:  by 
Francis  L.  Hawks,  160 

Nationalities.  See  Ancestry;  Popu- 
lation 


Negroes:  population,  74,  75,  95;  slave 
labor,  94;  a ''no-tail  bear,"  95;  homi- 
cide rate  among,  117;  mortality  sta- 
tistics, 210;  percentage  of  illiteracy  for, 
261,  262 

New  Jersey:  Appalachian  Province  in, 

17 
New-Kanawha  Trail,  44 
Newman,  A.  H.,  165,  182,  183 

New  York:  physiography  of,  17; 
pioneer  routes  of  travel  in,  23,  32 

Nomenclature,  12,  18,  50,  349 

Non-Conformists,  152,  171 

North  Carolina  Club,  308 

North  Carolina  Colonial  Records,  25 

North  Carolina:  topography  of,  10, 
II,  13,  342-343;  early  settlements  in, 
25,  28,  29,  38,  39,  40.  42,  44;  coloaial 
records,  25;  migration  from,  47;  ra- 
cial elements  in,  54,  57,  58,  62,  63,  64, 
65,  66;  Morgan  District  of,  54;  His- 
torical Sketches  of,  58;  treaties  with 
Indians,  66;  land  grants  in,  66;  and 
Declaration  of  Independence,  67,  91, 
Confederates  in,  96;  school  legisla- 
tion in,  269;  regional  descriptions  of, 
342-343 

Nurses:  school,  219;  service,  221;  and 
Red  Cross,  221,  222 

Ohio  River  Route:  and  early  settle- 
ments, 32,  34,  35,  43 

Oil:  petroleum  output,  239 

Old  Pike,  The:  by  Thomas  B.  Searight 

35 
Old    Virginia  and  her   Neighbors:    by 

John  Fiske,  349 

Old  West,  The:  by  Frederick  J.  Tur- 
ner, 58,  59 

Ores:  See  Minerals 

Our  Southern  Highlanders:  by  Horace 
Kephart,  90,  109 

Outposts:  and  frontier  settlements,  26- 
28,30,32,33;  Fort  Chissell,  32;  Hol- 
ston,  2,2) 

Patriotism:  and  the  World  War,  120- 
122;  Alvin  York,  122 


400 


INDEX 


Patterson,  Mrs.  Lindsay,  352 

Paui-INSkill  Valley.  See  Greater  Ap- 
palachian Valley 

Pellagr<\:  Goldberger  on,  202 

Pennsylvania:  boundaries  in.  11.  17; 
early  immigrants  to,  23-26,  34;  race 
estimates  in,  54,  55,  56,  57 

Pensions:  Revolutionary  War  lists,  62, 
63,64 

Persecution:  and  the  Established 
Church,  1 59-1 61 

Personal  Experiences:  school  and 
church  problems,  1-7;  with  moon- 
shiners, 103, 106;  and  an  appeal,  323- 

325 

Petitions  of  the  Early  Inhabitants  of  Ken- 
tucky to  the  General  Assembly  of  Vir- 
ginia, i-j6g  to  1792:  by  James  Rood 
Robertson,  61 

Peyton,  John  Lewis,  156 

Physicians:  native  mountain,  205-206; 
as  dentists,  215;  recommendations 
for,  206,  220-225 

Physiography:  Blue  Ridge  Belt,  12, 13 
-14;  Allegheny  Cumberland  Belt,  14- 
16;  Greater  Appalachian  Valley,  16- 
17;  of  early  routes  of  travel,  22,  24, 
32.  35,  38,  40;  description  of  state 
areas,  335-348.    See  also  Topography 

PiCTLTRESQUENESS:  of  life,  123,  124, 
141-151 

Piedmont  Plateau,  ii,  13,  22,  96 

Pioneers:  and  early  frontier  routes  and 
settlements,  9-11.  22-49;  ^^'^r  ^^'i^h 
Indians,  26-27,  29-30,  34.  39 

Pittsburgh:  Fort  Pitt  established,  26; 
and  pioneer  settlement,  34;  Scotch- 
Irish  population,  57 

Plunkett,  Sir  Horace,  258,  294,  295 

Pneumonia:  death  rate  from,  209 

Politics:  party,  20;  in  Civil  War 
times,  98-99;  "Corner  Stone  of  De- 
mocracy," 99;  study  of  atliliations, 
99-100,303;  corruption  in,  102;  wo- 
men's part  in,  128 

PooLEY.  William  Vipond,  47 


Population:  proportion  oi,  to  area,  19, 
75;  of  early  settlements,  23,  25,  30, 
36,42,47;  reservoirs  of,  24,  25,  26,36, 
S3 ;  salt  springs  induce  settlement,  41 ; 
migrations,  sources  of,  52-53;  A  Cen- 
tury of  Population  Growth,  54;  racial 
classification,  53-65;  composition 
and  social  groupings,  72-89;  by  na- 
tivity and  race,  74-75,  363;  density 
of,  75-77,  227;  increase  in,  77-79, 
361,  362;  urban  and  rural,  80-81, 
365-368;  Negro,  74,  75;  foreign 
bom,  74,  75;  distribution  and  density 
of,  75-81;  increases  in,  77-80;  urban 
and  rural,  79-81;  how  recruited,  94; 
support  of,  227-228;  historical  esti- 
mates of  Scotch-Irish  and  Germans, 
355-359;  per  sqiJare  mile,  364;  of 
cities,  369,  370 

Poverty:  ratio  of,  to  accessibility,  78; 
causes  and  evidences  of,  87,  88.  See 
also  Living  Conditions 

Pre.'^chers:  rural,  86,  177,  181-183; 
and  growth  of  denominationalism, 
152-175;  lack  of,  153,  154,  163,  167; 
influence  of  Baptist,  164;  new  min- 
isters, 188-194 

Presbyterianism:  growth  of,  152,  154, 
157,  158,  170,  171,  172;  census  on. 
170,172;  membership,  by  states,  371 

Presbyterian  Irish,  53,  152;  Roose- 
velt on,  55,  165 

Price,  R.  N.,  166 

Primitive  Baptists,  173,  174 

Progress:  in  road  building,  48,  150; 
effect  of  schools  on,  119;  avenues 
for,  299-322 

Prohibition:  and  moonshining,  109, 
no 

Protestant  Episcopal  Church: 
growth  of,  154-159,  160;  census  of, 
170,171,172;  membership,  by  states, 
371 

Public  Schools:  equipment.  264; 
teachers,  264,  265;  salaries,  264;  poli- 
tics affect,  266;  supenision,  267;  in- 
efficient, 268;  Smith-Hughes  .A.ct, 
269;  legislation  in  North  Carolina, 
269;  county  high  schools,  270;  day 
schools,  274;  community  support 
for,  283;  recommendations,  305-306. 
See  also  Education 


401 


INDEX 


Races  and  Immigrants  in  America:  by 
John  R.  Commons,  358 

Racial  Classification:  of  names,  50- 
52,  54-55.  61,  62-65;  population,  53- 
65, 68-71,  74;  Sharp  on,  69 illiterates, 
261-263 

Rafts,  142 

Railways:  and  resources,  150,  241-242 

"Rearguard  of  the  Revolution,"  31 

Records:  North  Carolina  colonial,  25; 
of  Watauga  Association,  29;  census, 
54,  62,  63,  64,  74-77;  of  Kentucky 
petitioners.  61;  of  surnames,  62-64 

Recreation:  social  organization  lack- 
ing, 5,  319;  in  rural  Highlands,  125- 
126,  130-131,  141,  143;  in  national 
forests,  233;  accessibility  promotes, 
243 

Redemptioners,  51,  68,  69 

Reed,  A.  J.,  257 

Reformed  Church:  census  of,  171 

Regulators,  28,  91;  Bassett  on,  91 

Regulators  oj  North  Carolina,  The:  by 
J.  S.  Bassett,  91 

Religion:  denominational  diflFerences, 
2-4,  7,  43,  95,  152;  Predestinarians, 
4;  of  Scotch-Irish,  53,  152,  154,  163; 
historians  quoted,  153-169,  173;  Tol- 
eration Act,  154-157,  161;  separa- 
tion of  Church  and  State,  157-162; 
persecution,  159-162;  Act  for  Re- 
ligious Freedom,  161;  list  of  colleges, 
163-164;  census,  169-173;  member- 
ship of  religious  bodies,  371.  See  also 
Denominationalism 

Religious  Bodies:  U.  S.  Census,  1906, 
169,  173 

Religions  Forces  in  the  United  States, 
Enumerated,  Classified,  and  Des- 
cribed: by  H.  K.  Carroll,  173 

Religious  Life  of  the  Rural  High- 
lands, 176-194;  hymns,  176,  184- 
i87;.  interest  in  theology,  177,  192; 
interpreting  Scripture,  178;  conver- 
sions, 180;  old  beliefs,  180-181; 
types  of  ministers,  181-182,  188;  in- 
fluence of  native  church,  189;  and  of 
"foreign,"  190-194 


Reservoirs  of  Population,  24-26,  36, 
53,  57,92 

Resources:  early  settlers  attracted  by, 
41-43;  forests,  228;  water  power,  234; 
minerals,  etc.,  236-241;  climate, 
243;  industrial,  244;  agricultural,  and 
development,  246 

Revolution:  and  frontier  settlements, 
30,  31,  43;  "rearguard"  of  the,  31; 
war  pension  lists,  62, 63,  64;  effect  on 
western  migration,  162 

Rise  of  the  New  West,  The:  by  Frederick 
J.  Turner,  48,  95 

Rivers:  as  boundaries,  ii,  14, 16;  early 
routes  of  travel,  24.  25,  32,  33,  34-35. 
36-37;  Ohio  River  route,  32,  34,  43; 
directions  for  following,  as  travel 
route,  37 

Roads:  travel  routes  and  frontier  set- 
tlement, 22-49,  167;  Great  Road,  25; 
Wilderness  Road,  26-27,  32-35; 
Cumberland,  35;  New-Kanawha 
Trail,  44;  Pooley  on,  47;  building 
new,  48-49, 150;  relation  to  mountain 
resources,  241-243;  Dixie  Highway, 
242.    See  also  Trails;  Transportation 

Robertson,  James,  28,  31,  59,  60 

Robertson,  James  Rood,  61 

Rockefeller  Sanitary  Commission, 
197,  216,  220 

Roman  Catholics,  169, 171,360;  mem- 
bership, by  states,  371 

Roosevelt,  Theodore,  29,  36,  55,  73, 
1x8,  161,  165,  168 

Routes  of  Travel:  and  early  settle- 
ments, 22-49;  river  migration,  24,  32 
-37;  "Great  Road,"  25;  Wilderness 
Road,  32-35,  38,43;  river  beds  as,  36, 
37;  later  migrations,  48.  See  also 
Maps;  Trails 

Rowan,  Mathew,  25 
Rule,  William,  31 

Rural  Population:  census  of,  73-81; 
groups  defined,  79,  81;  statistics  on, 
361-368 

Rt4ral  Schools  in  North  Carolina,  More 
Intensive  Supervision  oj:  by  L.  C. 
Brogden,  267 

402 


INDEX 


Russell,  George  W.,  258,  316 

Russell  Sage  Foundation,  xi,  xii, 
271,  273 

Salt  Springs:  in  Kentucky  and  West 
Virginia,  41-42 

Saluda  Gap,  48 

Sanitation:  and  living  conditions,  iq6- 
198,  204,  212;  Rockefeller  Commis- 
sion, 197,  2x6,  220 

Savage,  William,  46 

Scholarships,  277 

Schools:  personal  reminiscences,  1-7; 
mission,  20;  influence  on  population, 
87;  and  rural  preachers,  188-194; 
health  problems  in,  215,  217,  219; 
public,  264-271;  day,  274-276;  board- 
ing, 276-277;  church  and  independent 
schools,  271-289;  Danish  folk  schools, 
290-298.     See  also  Education 

Scotch-Irish:  early  immigrants,  23,53, 
55,  56,  57,  61,  6s;  classiiication  of, 
and  ancestry,  53-62;  number  of  early 
settlers,  54,  55,  56,  57,  58,  59,  61;  re- 
ligious faith  of,  152,  154,  163;  histori- 
cal estimates  of,  355-358 

Scotch-Irish  Historical  Society,  An- 
nals of,  23 

Scotch-Irish  in  America,  The:  by  Charles 
A.  Hanna,  154 

Scotch-Irish  in  America,  The:  by  Henry 
Jones  Ford,  23,  iS4. 358 

Scotch-Irish,  The:  by  Charles  A.  Hanna, 

24,  55,  355 
Searight,  Thomas  B.,  35 

Semple,  Ellen  Churchill,  88 

Semple,  Robert  B.,  163 

Separation  of  Church  and  State, 
157-162 

Separation  of  Church  and  Slate  in  Vir- 
ginia:  by  H.  J.  Eckenrode,  155,  157 

Settlements:  scenes  of  frontier  life, 
9-10,  31,  34,  35,  44,  47;  and  routes  of 
travel,  22-49;  'n  Indian  territories, 
26;  Holston,  27,  30,  i:^;  Watauga, 
28,  29,  31,  40;  dates  of,  23,  26,  28- 
34,  39-40,  49;  inducements  to,  40, 
41,  42,  43;    tjrst,   in   Kentucky,  40; 


racial  elements  of,  51-71;  Turner 
on,  58;  Treaty  of  1777,  66;  traditions, 
67-69.    See  also  Migration 

Sevier,  John,  28,  59,  60,  67;  Indian 
fighter,   60;    as    slave    holder.   94 

Sharp,  Cecil  J.,  69,  70,  71,   97,    loi, 

131. 185 
Shelby,  Gen.  Evan,  60 

Sheriffs:  and  "SherifGng,"  103 

Significance  of  the  Frontier  in  American 
History,  The:  by  Frederick  J.  Tur- 
ner, 93 

Sketches  of  a  Tour  to  the  Western  Country: 
by  F.  Cuming,  168 

Slaves:  early  labor  conditions,  94 

Smith,  C.  D.,  113 

Smith,  George  Gillman,  43 

Smith-Hughes  Act,  269 

SmTH,  J.  Russell,  255 

Social  Diseases,  212,  214 

Soil  Provinces,  246 

Songs  and  Ballads  of  the  Southern  Moun- 
tains: by  Olive  Dame  Campbell,  147 

South  Carolina:  topography  of,  10, 
II,  343-344;  early  settlements  in, 
39;  migration  from,  47,  57;  racial 
elements  of,  57,  60,  63,  64,  67;  popu- 
lation density,  75;  regional  descrip- 
tions of,  343-344 

Southern  Highlander:  defined,  8, 
18,  72,  90;  problem  of,  299;  char- 
acteristics, 300;  betterment  plans  for, 
300;  misunderstood,  301,  349;  "Mis- 
sions" for,  302;  ix)litics,  303;  co-oper- 
ation for,  304,  310-322;  education, 
305-307,  308-315;  surveys  to  better 
conditions,  307-308;  church  work, 
317-319;  origin,  theory  of,  349-351 

Southern  Highlands  Defined.  10,  12 

South  Mountain,  Pa.  See  Blue 
Ridge  Belt 

Speech:  quaintness,  and  descriptive 
words,  144-146 

Speed,  Thomas,  26 

Spirit  of  the  Mountains,  The:  by  Emma 
B.  Miles,  188 


403 


INDEX 


Statistical  Study  of  the  Public  Schools 
of  the  Southern  Appalachian  Moun- 
tains: by  Norman  Frost.  265 

Statistical  Summary,  360-371;  areas, 
by  states,  360;  population  growth, 
361-370;  religious  bodies,  371 

Strangways,  Fox,  71 

Struggle  for  Religious  Freedom  in  Vir- 
ginia: by  William  T.  Thom.  159^  161 

Struggle  of  Protestant  Dissenters  for 
Religious  Toleration  in  Virginia:  by 
Henry  R.  Mcllwaine,  156 

Sunday  Schools:  and  lack  of  harmony, 
2-3;  and  rural  preachers.  188.  See 
also  Church  and  Independent  Schools 

Surveys:  and  land  patents,  45;  U.S. 
Forest  Service,  230,  231,  233;  of 
water  power  development,  234,  235; 
of  mineral  resources.  237,  240;  of 
agricultural  lands,  247-250;  of  public 
schools,  264;  need  of,  307;  of  soil,  307 

Sweet  Songster,  The,  173,  176 

Tablets:  marking  Boone's    Trail,  352 

Teachers:  few  professional,  86; 
training  inadequate,  264;  complica- 
tions, 265-266;  in  North  Carolina, 
267;  examinations,  274.  See  also 
Education 

Templecrone  Agricultural  Co-op- 
erative Society,  258 

Temple,  Oliver  Perry,  60 

Tennessee:  topography  of,  10.  11,  15, 
16,  344-346;  early  settlements  in,  28, 
29,  30.  31,  33,  39,  48,  64;  state  of 
FrankUn,  28;  Jonesboro,  31;  racial  ele- 
ments of,  60,  64,  65;  first  institute  of 
learning,  65;  tuberculosis  death  rate, 
for  Valley,  211;  regional  descriptions 
of,  344-346 

Theology:  personal  reminiscences,  2- 
5,7;  ministers,  status  of,  86;  interest 
in,  177 

Thomas,  E.  D.,  185 

Thom,  William  Taylor,  159.  161 

Thwaites,  Reuben  G.,  38,  64,  168 

Tidewater,  22;  Settlements,  43;  aris- 
tocracy, 95 


Timber.   See  Forests 
Tipple,  Ezra  Squier,  166 
Toleration  Act,  154-157,  161 

Topographic  Description  of  the  Western 
Territory  of  North  America:  by  Gil- 
bert Imlay,  40 

Topography:  of  Highland  belts,  12-17, 
19,40;  influence  on  life,  73;  descrip- 
tions of  state  areas,  335-348.  See  also 
Maps;  Physiography 

Traces.   See  Trails 

Trachoma,  215,  216 

Trading:  Highlander  a  genius  for,  100- 

lOI 

Trails:  and  early  settlements,  26,  33- 
34,  36,  38,  47,  48;  Indian,  26,  36,  44; 
and  traces,  34,  37,  38;  buffalo,  36; 
New-Kanawha,  44;  Saluda  Gap,  48- 
See  also  Wilderness  Road 

Transportation:  and  natural  resources, 
241-243;  water,  242;  highways,  242; 
to  recreation  fields,  243;  a  factor  in 
farming,  254.    See  also  Rivers;  Roads 

Travel.    See  Routes  of  Travel 

Treaties:  with  Indians,  27,  38,  39,  66; 
first,  in  1785,  39;  Paris,  in  1763,  27; 
Jay's  Treaty,  32,  Holston,  66;  Treaty 
of  Long  Island,  66 

Tree  Farming,  255 
Tuberculosis,  209,  210,  223 

Turner,  Frederick  Jackson.  41,  48, 

58,59,93,9s 
Types:    representative   American,   72; 

home  life,  83-89 

Typhoid,  204,  209,  210.  211 


Unaka  Mountain  Range,  14 

United  Irishwomen,  315 

Urban  Population:   census  of,  73-81; 
groups  defined,  79.  81 


Valley  of  Virginia,  12,  16,  19.  23,  25, 
30,32,57,94 


404 


INDEX 


Valleys:  use  of  term,  12;  Greater 
Appalachian  Valley,  12,  16,  17,  24, 
36;  routes,  and  early  settlements, 
22-38;  Watauga,  28,  30 

Verhoeff,  Mary,  44,49 

Vestries:  in  Virginia,  155-156 

Veterans:  and  pension  lists,  62,  63,  64; 
of  Civil  War,  96;  of  World  War,  221 

Virginia:  topography  of^  10,  n,  13, 15, 
346-347;  early  settlements  in,  25,  27, 
28,  30,  56;  migration  from,  47,  56,  57, 
64;  racial  elements  of,  57.  61;  Con- 
federates, 96;  regional  descriptions 
of,  346-347 


Walker,  Dr.  Thomas,  26 

Wallkill  Valley.  See  Greater  Appa- 
lachian Valley 

Waning  Hardwood  Supply  and  the 
Appalachian  Forests,  230 

War:  on  frontier  settlements,  27,  28, 
31;  Battle  of  Alamance,  28;  with 
British  at  King's  Mountain,  31;  vet- 
erans and  pensioners,  62,  63,  64; 
"bushwhackers,"  97;  feuds,  m- 
1 14.    See  also  Civil  War;  Outposts 

Watauga  Association:  Roosevelt  on, 
29;  Scotch-Irish  colonists,  59;  first 
independent  community,  92 

Watauga  Settlement,  28-29,  30.  31. 
40,  60,  67,  168 

Water  Power:  relation  to  forests. 
234;  estimate,  of  rivers.  234-235; 
Report  of  State  Geologist.  235 

Western  North  Carolina:  by  John  P. 
Arthur,  113 

"West  OF  the  Alleghenies"  defined. 
65 


West  Virginia:  topography  of,  10,  11, 
15)  19)  347"348;  early  settlements  in, 
26,  30;  population  density.  76;  re- 
gional descriptions  of,  347-348 

Westward  Movement,  The:  by  Justin 
Winsor,  57,  61 

Wheeler,  John  H.,  58,  60 

Whiskey:  adulteration  in  making 
moonshine,  109;  stills,  no;  effects  of 
excessive  drinking,  203.  See  also 
Moonshiners 

Whiskey  Insurrection:  Bracken- 
ridge  on,  92,  107;  Alexander  Hamil- 
ton on,  92 

"Wildcatters,"  45 

Wilderness  Road:  pioneer  routes  of 
travel,  25-35,  38,  43;  first  route  to 
west,  32;  map,  early  routes,  32 

Wilderness  Road,  The:  by  Thomas 
Speed,  26,  34 

Williams,  Albert,  270 

Wilson,  Warren  H.,  xiv 

Winning  of  the  West:  by  Theodore 
Roosevelt,  29,  36,  55,  73,  118,  161, 
165,  168 

Winsor,  Justin,  57,  61 

Women:  home  life  of,  123,  127,  133- 
134)  139-141;  fireside  industries.  123, 
129;  changed  conditions  for,  128; 
marriage  their  goal,  127-130,  133; 
recreation,  130,  143;  and  size  of 
families,  138,  226;  motherhood  and 
old  age,  138-141;  and  childbirth, 
139,  212-214.    See  also  Home  Life 

Works  of  A  lexander  Hamilton,  93 

York,  Alvin,  122 

Young  Men's  Christian  Association, 
319 

Young  Women's  Christian  Associa- 
tion, 319 


405 


4   dJ^  V) 


4 


UNIVu.  Y  <- 

THE  ''  awss^- 

Tliis  "book  ^ 


.ast  date  stamped  tDelow 


r 


•r*<r. 


PM 
O 


-ilJlP' 


y^ 


\ 


^' 


3   1158  00 


29  5368 


.,_,., ..MAlBR^R.Vffr. 


000  694  290    B 


I 


vLIFORNIA 


r 


